Break Away
by MissMarisaKaulitz
Summary: Leah McAllister is an aspiring singer with a complicated past. Will her new love, Bill Kaulitz be able to save her from it?
1. Chapter 1

She never thought it'd go this far. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined it would come to this. Back before she was dating a rock star; before she hit the big time; before her life got complicated; she never thought something like this could happen to _her_. "Somebody call an ambulance!" someone screamed from what seemed like a great distance. Her world slowly crashed, fading to black.

**XXXX**

3 Years Earlier—Sept. 07

"Oh…mien…gott…" Leah McAllister stood horrified before what was now her new home. There were big houses in Wisconsin, but this was _too_ big! A wave of nausea swept through her as she drank it all in; the three story marble pillars that served no other purpose than to create an illusion of elegance; the immense closed-in landing leading up the steps to the front door, which seemed far more intimidating than welcoming; the rising towers that seemed to touch the very sky itself; the list could go on and on.

"You don't mean to tell me that _this_ is our new house, do you?" Leah questioned her stepfather, James Carlton.

"I do. Got a problem with that?" he snapped back. He, being an FBI agent and frequently traveling, always seemed to have a chip on his shoulder, and Leah usually felt the brunt of it. Today was no different.

As James brushed past her, she couldn't help but think to herself, "_If mama were here, she'd have a problem with it." _Ever since her mother had committed suicide a year back, Leah and her stepfather had grown even further apart than ever. _"Just don't say anything, Leah. He's not worth it,"_ she thought to herself for the millionth time.

"Go on and start to unload your stuff," Jim, as Leah preferred to call him, gruffly called back to her. "It's going to be a long day."

**XXXX**

Later that night, laying on her newly made bed, surrounded by unopened boxes of all her belongings, Leah fought hard to fall asleep. Insomnia plagued her ever since she discovered her mother that fateful night, over a year ago. There wasn't a day that went by where Leah didn't lie awake for hours, thinking and contemplating her mother's death. The images of the grotesque scene she stumbled upon that night replayed over and over in her mind; her brain screamed in frustration and disgust, unable to forget the horrors of what she had seen.

Convinced she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, Leah reluctantly dragged herself out of bed and made her way to the doors of her balcony. While exploring the immense house with Jim earlier that day, she insisted upon having this room; she'd always wanted a balcony, and she immediately fell in love with its simple elegance. Gently pushing the glass doors open, Leah quietly stepped out into the open air. She sighed deeply, pulled out her pack of Menthols and lighter from her pajama pants pocket, lit up, drew a deep drag, and slowly let it out. Smoking at sixteen years old was never part of her master plan, but with all of the stress thrown on her during the past year, she had picked it up along the way. Jim didn't seem to mind, him being a heavy smoker himself, so the thought of quitting rarely ever occurred to her. Of course, being an aspiring singer and musician, she was somewhat concerned with how the cancer sticks would affect her vocals, but she always dashed the thoughts from her mind no sooner than they entered it.

Leaning against the railing, Leah scanned her surroundings. The moonlight cast a blue shadow on everything that night. After a few minutes, Leah finished her first cigarette. She started to pull out a second, when she noticed some rustling in the bushes a few yards from the house. Seeing as there was no wind that night, Leah was curious as to what could be hiding in the bush.

She cleared her throat. "Um, hello?" she gently called out. The rustling stopped. Cocking her eyebrow, Leah set down her cigarette, leaned over the railing, and called out once more.

"I know there's someone there. You might as well come out." She waited silently for a response. Straining her eyes to further adjust to the darkness surrounding her, she thought she saw someone, or something quickly dash away, into the night.

"Well then," she sighed. "Pennsylvania is far stranger than I ever expected…" With that, she picked her cigarette back up, lit it, and smoked the rest of the night away.

**XXXX**

"Leah, wake up," a rough voice sounded in Leah's ears. "You're going to be late." Slowly and reluctantly, she opened her eyes to the towering figure of Jim, hovering over her with a sour expression plastered on his face. It had only been a week since they moved from Wisconsin, but to Leah, it felt like an eternity. The last thing she wanted to do was go to a new school full of Pennsylvania hicks.

"You better get moving if you want to make it to school on time," Jim growled as he made his way to the door. "I'll be leaving to go on my assignment around noon, so I won't be here when you come back." The thought of Jim leaving for two weeks filled Leah with indescribable joy. Whenever he got called on government trips, or assignments as he liked to call them, Leah was left to fend for herself, which she rather enjoyed. Her time alone was precious to her, and she would take all the time she could get.

"Anything I should do before you come back?" she sleepily asked while sitting up in bed.

Jim curtly replied, "Just don't burn the house down."

**XXXX**

_"Ready, set, go, it's time to run! The sky is changing, we are one! Together we can make it while the world is crashing down. Don't you turn around…"_ Tokio Hotel blasted through the radio of Leah's GranTurismo coupe Maserati as she pulled into the parking lot of her own personal hell; Samuel Hemmingway Sr. High School. What could only be described as insurmountable dread gripped her heart as she pulled they key from the ignition after parking in the closest spot she could find.

"And so begins the worst day of my life," Leah mumbled as she slid out of her car. Walking up the steps to the massive building, she swallowed the lump forming in her throat, took a deep breath, and entered her educational home for the remainder of her high school career.

The first half of her day was hectic and stressful, as Leah expected. She got to her first class late because she had trouble finding her locker, she was nearly run over by a group of senior boys on the way to her third class, and by the time lunch rolled around, she had decided that life as she now knew it was going to be filled with nothing but stress. Scanning the cafeteria for an empty table (she really just wanted to be alone), Leah aimlessly wandered a few feet, not seeing the two students headed towards her with loaded trays. The collision was enough to alert the entire cafeteria, sending everyone into hysterics.

"Oh mien gott, I am SO sorry!" Leah gasped as she attempted to collect the spilled contents of all of their trays that had crashed to the floor.

"Let me help you with that," the male student laughed as he picked her up off of the floor. Their eyes instantly connected, and Leah felt her blood run cold. _"My god, he's gorgeous!"_ she thought as he let go of her. "I'm Colden Mitchell," the boy explained and reached out his hand. Leah absentmindedly shook it as she desperately grasped for words. "This is my sister, Stevie."

The girl, whom Leah initially crashed into, had already gathered the trays and stood waiting for her older brother to help her with them. "Hi!" she smiled at Leah. "Nice to meet you," she laughed as she handed a tray to Colden. "Well, not meeting you like _this_, but you know what I mean."

Leah didn't know what to think. Back home, if she so much as _looked _at another student without reason, fists would be flying. Contemplating the siblings' kindness, she managed, "I'm Leah McAllister."

"Well, Leah," Colden started. "Why don't we take care of this mess, and then we can get to know each other better!" He smiled and handed her a tray. She blushed as she stole another glance into his icy blue eyes. He followed Stevie to the trash cans and motioned for Leah to come join them.

"Well," thought Leah. "This might turn out to be a good day after all!" And with that, she followed the duo to an empty table.


	2. Chapter 2

Leah, Colden, and Stevie all became fast friends. That day in the cafeteria, Leah learned that Colden was a senior, and Stevie was a sophomore, just like Leah. She also discovered that the siblings lived next door to her, so after school, Leah gave them a ride home (they usually walked).

"Okay, well how about Underoath?" Colden asked Leah. The three were discussing all of their favorite bands, and so far, found that they all had the same taste in music.

"Oh yeah, one of my favorites," Leah exclaimed. "Last year, I saw them live, and I got to meet Spencer Chamberlain and Aaron Gillespie. They were actually pretty cool guys."

"No way!" Stevie and Colden both gushed at the same time.

"Dude, you are _so_ lucky!" Stevie finished.

"I guess," Leah sighed. "But my heart will always belong to Tokio Hotel. _Specifically_ to Bill Kaulitz!"

A sour look came across Colden's face. "Are you serious? That group of homos? You gotta be kidding."

Stevie smacked her brother on the arm. "Hey! They are NOT homos! If you even watched the interviews with me, you'd be able to see that! Trust me…" she giggled as she recalled some of the remarks made by Tom Kaulitz, also known as the lover of her soul. "It's amazing how much they joke about….stuff!"

Leah laughed as they pulled up to the duo's house. "Oh yes. They're _DEFINITELY_ straight…"

"Whatever," Colden rolled his eyes. "You guys buy into the fantasy. One day you'll realize they're all a bunch of faggot posers, and you'll get over it. And with that, I bid you farewell." He slid out of the back seat, bowed dramatically, and strolled up to his front door to wait for Stevie, who had the house key.

"Just ignore him," Stevie told Leah. "He gets all idiotic whenever someone brings them up."

Leah flashed her new friend a smile. "Don't worry; I'm used to dealing with people always slamming me for loving them. I've just learned to ignore them."

"I know what you mean," smiled Stevie. "Hey! I'm going to one of their concerts in Ohio in a few days! You should totally come with me!" Stevie grasped Leah's hands excitedly. "It'll give us a real chance to hang out!"

There was nothing more in the world that Leah wanted than to see her "future husband" live and in action. And since Jim would be gone for two weeks…

"I'm in," she said excitedly as she squeezed Stevie's hands. Both girls squealed in sheer joy.

"I'll call you later with the details!" Stevie exclaimed while climbing out of the car. "Talk to you later!"

"Alright, bye!" Leah waved enthusiastically after her new found friend. Her eyes searched for Colden, but he had already found the spare key and let himself inside. As Leah pulled out of their driveway and made her way towards her house, she couldn't help but smile. "I have a feeling that living here might not be so bad after all."

**XXXX**

"Aggh! Damn razor!" Leah winced at the gushing line of blood on her wrist. That last one had gone deeper than she expected. Before smoking, she liked to carve up her arm, and then wind down with a cancer stick…or five.

She stared at the random spots of self injury up and down her left arm and sighed. "Why am I doing this to myself?" she wondered. If she was honest with herself, she couldn't come up with a legitimate reason as to why she had resorted to throwing away her self-worth in such a gruesome way.

"I just need to relax." She made her way to the balcony to choke her pain to death in cigarette smoke.

By cigarette number three, Leah had calmed herself down quite a bit. She let her mind wander to the plans she and Stevie had made earlier on the phone. They had even picked out outfits to wear to the concert. Since it was an overnight trip (and Leah still had no idea how Stevie had managed to pull this off), arrangements had been made for them to stay at the same hotel as the band! Leah felt like she was going to explode from excitement.

"Oh great, now I've worked myself up again!" She grabbed another cancer stick and lit it, when suddenly she heard a noise. She froze.

Nothing seemed to be happening.

There it was again! Leah let out a drag and listened intently in the cool autumn air. She stood frozen on her balcony. The noise seemed to be coming from the direction of the bushes! "Oh gott, not again."

_Pew! Clink!_ Something whizzed right past her head and bounced off the glass doors behind her. "What the…"

"Leah…" a voice quietly called out. "Leah it's me, Colden!"

_Colden…? What's he doing here at three in the morning?_ "Do you have any idea what time it is, young man?" Leah teased as she saw Colden slink out from behind the bushes.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting in those bushes for you to notice me?" Colden shot right back with a smirk. He made his way to the foot of the balcony and stood there, looking up at Leah. "Can I come up, or what?"

Leah laughed. "Fine, sure. Whatever." She turned to go inside to let him in, but before she could, he had started to make his way up the pillar leading to her balcony.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked, stifling her laughter. After a minute or two, he scrambled over the railing and landed safely onto the balcony.

"And he sticks the landing!" he exclaimed. "You said I could come up, right?" Those icy blue eyes seemed to radiate in the moonlight. Leah giggled.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to take the hard way up!" She crushed her cigarette into the floor of the balcony, and then straightened up. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Bad habit." She probably reeked of smoke.

Colden smiled. "It's all good. I light up every now and then, myself." He took a few steps closer to her.

Leah quickly ventured, "So what are you doing here at three in the morning, disturbing my quiet time, and throwing rocks at my head?"

Colden glanced down at his shoes. "I, uh, I wanted to apologize for today. Well, yesterday. I didn't mean to be such a douche bag about that band you like." He looked back up and caught her eyes. "I can be an idiot sometimes."

Leah tingled all over. Amazing how one look from this guy could drive her crazy. "Oh, um, don't worry about it," she stumbled though her words. "It didn't bother me."

"Oh."

Awkward. "Well anyways, I just wanted to apologize. I'll let you get back to your, uh, quiet time." He turned to climb over the balcony.

"Wait," Leah stopped him. "You don't have to go. You just got here." She grabbed his arm. "You want to join me?" She reached for her cigarettes and smiled.

Colden laughed. "Sure. Maybe for a little bit." _Oh the things I'd do to you if I could, you little bitch,_ he thought. _Control yourself, Mitchell._


	3. Chapter 3

"Everybody give it up! For Tokio….Hotel!" Thousands of screams erupted as the band made their way onto the stage and took their places. Bill glanced over at Tom, who returned his look with a smirk. _Okay, Tomi. Let's show 'em how it's done!_ "Hallo Cleveland!"

The deafening roar of screams washed over Bill and the band. _Ecstasy._ Tom ripped into the first chords of Ready Set Go, and the crowd cranked up the scream level.

"Are you ready to tear this place apart?" Bill exclaimed as he scanned the crowd. His eyes fell onto two girls in the front row. Somehow, they stood out from the sea of screaming fans surrounding them. _An island of hope in a sea of sameness,_ he thought to himself as he winked at them.

The blue-eyed girl gave him a half smile, and the brown-eyed girl seemed engrossed in Tom. "We were running through the town…"

**XXXX**

"Holy schiesse! Bill Kaulitz just winked at me!" Leah had to practically scream in Stevie's ear.

"Are you kidding? And I missed it!" Stevie's face lit up with excitement and disappointment. "I was too wrapped up in Tomi!" she giggled and shifted her attention back to the dread-headed sex god that was Tom Kaulitz.

"_Ready, Set, Go! It's time to run! The sky is changing, we are one! Together we can make it while the world is crashing down…don't you turn around!"_

Leah gazed up at her idol. Bill's chocolate brown eyes flashed with excitement and passion as he poured his soul into his singing. _Oh, I can't wait to meet him backstage!_ At the last minute, Stevie had surprised Leah with backstage passes.

_"Breathe, slowly in and out. Somewhere behind the clouds, I can see the morning break…"_

Leah could feel her heart beat faster and faster as Bill strode toward her. Their eyes locked.

_"Too young to live a lie…"_ Bill now stood right in front of her.

_"Look into my eyes…"_

The music dramatically paused. Bill looked Leah straight in the eyes and crouched down. Their faces were mere inches apart.

"You know," he smiled as he held the mic away from his mouth so that only she could hear him. "I could use a little help with the chorus." He gave Leah one of his famous "eye-rape" looks he and his brother had become known for.

Leah's mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?"

"Let's do it!" he laughed and reached for her hand. She took it and he helped her up on stage. For such a slim guy, he was WAY stronger than he looked! The music started up again.

"Ready, Set, Go! It's time to run!" Bill gestured to Leah.

She smiled. "The sky is changing, we are one!"

Bill wrapped his arm around her waist. "Together we can make it while the world is crashing down…"

"Don't turn around!" they sang in unison. Leah looked for and found Stevie, whose expression was priceless. A stool was brought onto the stage, and as Bill continued to sing, Leah took a seat and just gazed at him for the rest of the concert.

**XXXX**

"So where are you guys staying?" Bill questioned Stevie and Leah as the meet and greet after the concert neared its end.

"Believe it or not," Leah laughed. "Same place as you!"

Tom smiled and glanced at Stevie. "Oh really?" Stevie giggled and blushed.

"Now Tomi," Bill reprimanded his "older" brother. "These girls are actually NICE girls. I don't need you corrupting their innocence!"

The girls giggled as the brothers bantered back and fourth for at least three minutes.

"Alright you two," Gerog stepped in. "I'm sure these lovely ladies don't want to hear your childish bickering. They would _much_ rather hang out with ME, instead!" he smiled as he took Stevie on one arm and Leah on the other. "Let's go, girls!"

All three laughed as they started to saunter away. The twins caught on quickly and started to chase them.

"Run!" laughed Leah and broke free from Georg's arm. She and Stevie darted all around the room, trying (unsuccessfully) to escape Bill and Tom. Both the girls ended up pinned down on the couch, breathless and giggling.

"I don't even want to know…" Gustav smiled as he rolled his eyes. No one had even noticed that he had come back from getting some cookies.

"Oh hey, Gugu!" Stevie smiled as she tried to wiggle out from under Tom, who was laughing like and idiot. "Bring me any cookies?"

"Of course," teased Gustav as he crammed the last cookie in his mouth. "Still want it?"

"I'll live," Stevie managed as she broke free from Tom and sat down beside him. There was a long, awkward pause.

"Well," Leah broke the silence. "We really should be going." A wave of protests came from the band.

"Wait, wait, wait," Bill hushed the boys. "Why don't we give you girls a ride back to the hotel? I mean, it's not like we'd have far to go…"

"Well, I'D like to go all the way!" Tom joked as scooted closer to Stevie.

"Tomi!" she blushed. "Puh-leeze!"

Leah looked into Bill's dark, smokey eyes. "You don't have to do that, really. I'm sure you guys are exhausted!"

"Pffft, no way!" Gustav objected. "We're taking you, and that's final!"

Stevie and Leah exchanged glances. "Well alright then!" smiled Stevie. "I don't think this night could get any better!"

"Oh," Tom whispered into her ear. "I think it could…"

Stevie laughed and swatted his arm.

"Let's get going, then!" Bill exclaimed and clapped excitedly in his cute little way. They all gathered their stuff and headed out.

**XXXX**

The light of day peeked through the blinds of the hotel room as Leah sleepily opened her eyes. She glanced at the clock radio; 6:30am.

_Ugh, way to early,_ she thought to herself as she closed her eyes and then shifted to her right side. Someone's slow, steady breath tickled her face. She cracked one eye open. "OH MIEN GOTT!"

Bill startled awake. "What? What? What's wrong?" His eyes widened as the realization of the situation hit him. "OH MIEN GOTT!"

"What the hell happened last night?" Leah almost screamed as she pulled the sheets around her body.

"I…I have no idea!" Bill stuttered and scrambled to cover himself as well. "I can't remember anything!"

**XXXX**


	4. Chapter 4

The sound of yelling and screaming jolted Stevie awake. Her eyes fluttered open in the dim morning light peeking through the half-closed blinds of the hotel room. Half asleep and in a daze, she slowly started to sit up in bed. Her right hand brushed against something.

"Stop it, that tickles!" Tom mumbled sleepily from under the covers.

Stevie froze. _Oh no._ "Tom?" She feared the worst.

He poked his head out from under the comforter. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" he smiled, still in sleep mode.

"Uh, what am I doing here, exactly?" Stevie asked nervously.

Tom could see that he wasn't about to fall back asleep anytime soon, so he sat up next to Stevie. "Not to worry, little miss abstinence. Nothing happened last night." A devilish grin spread across his face. "Well, _almost_ nothing."

Stevie snapped her head in his direction. "What do you mean by '_almost_'?" She cocked one eyebrow. "Either something happened, or it didn't. I need to know."

Tom laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll tell you what happened."

**XXXX**

Leah and Bill just sat opposite on the bed, trying to remember what happened the previous night. They honesty couldn't remember a thing.

"I, uh…wow. This is awkward," Bill muttered as he leaned back against the headboard.

Leah sat at the end of the bed with the bedsheet wrapped around her. "Yeah. You're telling me." Neither one would look the other in the eye. A few silent seconds seemed to drag into an eternity.

Bill spoke up. "Well, the last thing I can remember is walking into the hotel with you, Stevie, and the guys. Everything gets all fuzzy after that." He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. "I can only imagine how things ended up turning out since…well…you know…"

"Oh lord…" Leah buried her head in her hands. "What are we going to do? What are we going to tell people?"

Bill slowly opened his eyes back up. "Well, first of all, we need to get cleaned up or showered or something." He ventured a look at her and smiled weakly. "After that, we'll figure out what to do next."

**XXXX**

Stevie hurriedly threw on her clothes. "We need to go tell them! Now!" She struggled to zip her skinny jeans. "Schiesse! The zipper's broken!"

"Yeah…sorry about that…" Tom smirked and scratched behind his head. "I was pretty drunk and…well…yeah."

Stevie playfully threw a pillow at him. "We don't have time for this! Just give me a pair of your basketball shorts or something!"

Tom smiled and rolled his eyes, but got up to go rifle through his suitcase. There was something special about this girl. Usually he just invited some chick up to his room, had some fun, and then kicked her out the next morning. With Stevie it was different. _I think I may actually like this girl_, he smiled to himself as he brought her a pair of his shorts.

"Thanks," Stevie sheepishly took them from Tom. In doing so, her hand lingered on his for a few precious seconds. She glanced up into his velvety smooth eyes that pierced her soul. He held her gaze.

Stevie caught herself and cleared her throat. "Um, yeah. We, uh, we better hurry up." She broke their contact and slid into the bathroom to change. Tom chuckled to himself and went to go get dressed.

**XXXX**

A sudden knock on the door made Bill jump. Leah was still in the shower, so he got up from doing his hair to answer it.

"Ooo!" smirked Tom as he sauntered past Bill into the room. "It smells like sex and candy in here!" Bill shot his twin a warning look. _Don't even start with me right now._

Stevie soon followed Tom, and burst into the room. "Oh Bill, Bill, Bill!" she gasped while taking him by the hand and leading him over to sit down on the bed. "Do you remember what happened last night?"

Bill's eyes darkened with sadness and confusion. "Not at all. Leah's got nothing, either." He glanced at Tom, who then sat down beside him on the bed. "Do you guys know?"

"Yes! That's why we're here!" smiled Stevie. "Where's Leah?" she asked. No sooner than the words escaped her lips that Leah stepped out of the bathroom, showered and dressed.

"Oh Stevie!" she rushed over to her friend and tackled her in a big hug. "What the heck happened? I don't remember anything!"

Stevie scooted over to make room for Leah to sit. "Well," she started. "After we left the venue, on the way here, we decided to have a few drinks in the limo." She shot a look at Tom, who smiled and held up his hands innocently. "Well, a few drinks pretty much turned into us getting totally wasted. But you and Bill were WAY more hammered than the rest of us." She blushed and glanced at Bill.

"I'm starting to remember now," it slowly dawned on him, little by little. "We walked into the hotel and the lady at the front desk to us to 'quiet down and be respectful of the other guests' or something. You girls wanted to go to your room, but we insisted you stay with us. After that…I can't remember anymore." His voice trailed off.

"Oh, it gets even better," smirked Tom, who was the only one who remembered EVERYTHING. "Bill, you carried Leah to the elevator and went up to your room, and Stevie and I soon followed, but up to _my_ room." He shifted so that he faced the others. "I assume the G's went to theirs. I don't know. But anyways, little miss princess over here," he poked Stevie's knee and smiled; "pulled the whole 'I'm waiting until I get married' thing, and I just couldn't say no to a face like hers." He winked at her and she blushed.

"Yeah, so then Tom and I just decided we had better just go to sleep. But that didn't exactly happen right away…" Her face flushed bright red. "Uh, yeah, so, um. After that, we just kind of snuggled and fell asleep."

"But it was kind of hard with you two making so much noise in here!" Tom laughed and shoved his brother playfully.

Bill and Leah locked eyes. "I remember now," they both smirked.

"Yeah, I thought you might," Tom stood to lean against the wall on the other side of the room. "It's amazing you two are able to walk right now!"

"Ooooooooookay Tomi," Stevie hurriedly stood up to shut Tom up. "I think that's enough about last night." She took Leah's hand. "So. What do we do now?"

"What _I'm_ wondering is," Tom walked back over to the others and faced Leah. "How are you not completely hung over right now?"

Leah glanced back and forth between the twins. "I've, uh, kind of built up a resistance to alcohol this past year…" She caught their questioning looks and quickly added, "Don't ask."

"Alrighty then," sighed Bill. "How about we all go out for breakfast or coffee or something? I think we still have a million things to talk about." He shot Leah a looks as if to say, "_I really just wanted to spend more time with you._" She smiled and they all headed out the door.

**XXXX**


	5. Chapter 5

"And if you ever need _anything_," Bill whispered as he smiled and slipped Leah his number. "Just call. Any time, any place. I'll answer."

They stood just outside a small coffee shop with Tom and Stevie, who were completely engrossed with flirting back and forth. Leah smiled and peered into Bill's chocolaty brown eyes. "Thanks. And again, I'm really sorry about last night."

"And again, I _told_ you, don't apologize," the corners of Bill's mouth perked up slightly. "There's nothing to apologize for. It wasn't anybody's fault. If anything," he inched closer and closer to her. "It was a blessing in disguise."

Leah smiled and bit her lower lip. "You really think so? I mean, it's not like I'm any different than any other girl you've met." She lowered her gaze to the coffee cup warming her hands.

"How can you say that?" Bill lifted her chin and spoke softly. "You. Are. Amazing. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He smiled and brushed her dark brown hair from her face. "Hear me?"

Leah placed her hand on his and nodded.

"Alright," he sighed with a smile. "Tom and I have to go. You sure you and Stevie are alright?"

"Yeah totally," Leah smiled weakly. "We were going to go walk around the city today, anyways." She glanced over at Stevie and Tom, giggling like idiots and blissfully unaware that her heart was breaking for leaving Bill.

"You sure?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "We could always cancel our photoshoot…"

"No, no, no! Go do your photoshoot!" she smiled and swatted his arm. "But I need you to do something for me."

"Anything," Bill stroked her cheek lovingly. Leah looked him straight in his eyes.

"Just don't forget me."

**XXXX**

"Thanks for coming with me," Stevie smiled as Leah pulled into her driveway. "It would have sucked going by myself."

Leah squeezed her friend's knee and said, "No, thank _you_. That was the best weekend of my life! I can't believe we were actually with the Kaulitz twins…"

Stevie laughed. "I know, right? I think I'll give it two or three days; if Tom doesn't call me, _I'm_ calling him!" She gathered up her suitcases and slid out of Leah's car. "I'll talk to you later, Leah!"

"Bye, sweetie!" Leah waved to her friend and pulled out of her driveway. _I need a smoke…_

**XXXX**

Leah's suitcases sat unpacked in her room, and at the moment, Leah didn't care. Lighting her fourth cancer stick of the night, she leaned against the railing of her beloved balcony; absentmindedly she gazed up at the crescent moon, and let her mind wander to thoughts of Bill. _I wonder if he's thinking of me?_ She thought to herself. _But why would he be? He's probably hitting on some adoring fangirl right now!_ _Where's my razor?_ Leah wished she had unpacked earlier.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a harsh whisper. "Mind if I join you?"

Leah jumped as she spotted Colden, leaning against the pillar leaning up to her balcony, waving with a smirk. "Did I scare you?" he asked and raised an eyebrow.

Leah placed her hand over her heart. "I'll let you know when my heart starts back up again…" she teased and mock fainted.

"So. Once again….mind if I join you?" Colden asked. He didn't wait for her to answer as he started his climb up the pillar.

Leah laughed, "Oh sure. Come on up…" She scooted over to make room for him as he vaulted over the railing. "Hope you like Menthols."

"Eh, not my favorite," Colden smiled as he took a seat next to her. "But I think I'll live." He took the cigarette Leah held out to him, lit up, sucked in a long drag, and slowly breathed it out. "So, how was your trip?"

"Well," Leah paused and finished her cig. "It was….interesting. To say the very least…"

_She probably hooked up with that SOB Kaulitz…_Colden bitterly thought to himself but masked it with a look of concern. "Want to talk about it?" he asked and then took a drag.

"Eh, it's not worth getting into," Leah gazed into space. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Did something happen?" Colden's voice was masked with concern. _Just tell me, you little bitch._

"Really, Colden," Leah shot him a warning look. "I don't want to talk about it."

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, down girl, put away those claws." He smiled and put out his cigarette.

A long, awkward pause ensued. "Leah," started Colden. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

She glanced his way and caught a glimpse of his icy blue eyes. "Go for it."

He cleared his throat. "Well, Leah, I've known you for about a week now. I know that you're a sophomore and I'm a senior, but…"

_Uh oh,_ Leah thought to herself. _Don't even go there, Colden._ "Uh huh…"

Colden cleared his throat. "Well…do you think…would you ever…"

"You want to be more than friends," Leah simply stated and looked him in his iceberg eyes. She cracked a smile as he blushed and reached for another cancer stick.

"Do, uh, do you think it'll ever happen?" he stuttered as he struggled to light the cigarette shaking in his hand.

Leah sighed. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea right now. I'm not in the best place, and all I would do is hurt you." _Not to mention I just hooked up with freaking Bill Kaulitz._

Colden's face dropped. "Oh, alright. Yeah. That's totally fine." He struggled to control the rage that welled up inside him. _She said no! She said NO!_ The overbearing urge to beat the living daylights out of her suddenly swelled up inside of him, but he fought it off and finally managed to light his cig.

"I hope we can still be friends, though," Leah smiled and placed her hand gingerly on his knee. "I don't know what I'd do without you and Stevie."

"Oh, we will be!" Colden smiled and blew out some smoke. _You ain't seen nothing yet._ "I actually have to go. Talk to you tomorrow?" Standing and making his way towards the railing, he questioned her with smiling eyes. Leah smiled in agreement and he descended into the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Seething beyond comprehension, Colden climbed through his window. "She said no!" Ugh he could just _scream_! Angrily he started throwing things off of his bookshelf and dresser, tearing his room apart and not caring if the rest of the family heard.

He grabbed a pair of scissors off of his floor and attacked his mattress, stabbing it over and over and over. Exhausted, he flopped down onto it and screamed into his pillow.

"She'll see. They'll _all_ see!" He threw his pillow across the room and whipped out a notebook and pen to write everything down.

**5 Months Later—February '08**

"Have you noticed anything strange about Colden lately?" Leah asked Stevie one day at lunch.

"No, why?" Stevie was busy texting Tom. Ever since Christmas time when they had started going out, Tom was all Stevie ever talked about. Leah didn't mind one bit though; she thought it was adorable!

"I don't know," Leah sighed. "It seems like ever since we came back from that Tokio Hotel concert back in September, he's been kind of…clingy." She sighed and pushed around the "food" (if you could call it that) on her tray. "I'm starting to get worried about him. Has he been acting differently at home?"

Stevie put her phone away and sat in silence for a few moments. "Come to think of it," she glanced at Leah with a concerned look on her face. "He _has_ been getting a lot more, uh….irritable lately."

Leah faced her friend with growing concern. "What do you mean by irritable?"

"Well," Stevie started. "He's been yelling a lot more. The silliest things seem to upset him lately. Oh, and sometimes he locks himself in his room for hours, and when he finally comes out, he doesn't talk to anyone. At all. It's kind of scary, now that I think about it…"

Just as Stevie's thoughts trailed off, none other than Colden himself rounded the corner with his tray; all smiles. "Hey guys!"

"Hey," Leah said as she shot Stevie a nervous glance. "Whatcha up to?"

Colden set his tray down across from Stevie and diagonal from Leah. "Oh nothing…as usual." He chuckled and took a massive bite out of his apple. "Hey, you should come over tonight and hang out. Right, Stevie?" He glanced at his younger sister and poked her arm.

"Yeah, you totally should!" Stevie turned to Leah. "We could watch movies or something."

Leah smiled. "I wish I could, guys. But Jim wants me to clean the house tonight." She rolled her eyes in disgust. "And you know how much fun _that_ will be…"

"We could come over and help you clean," suggested Colden as he took another bite of his apple. "We could get it done in no time."

Leah gave him a half smile. "That's terribly sweet of you, but its okay. Besides, I'm expecting a call from Bill tonight." The mention of his name sent Leah's spine tingling and Colden's blood boiling. "We're going to be finalizing all the details for my record deal."

Over the past five months, Leah and Bill had constantly talked, texted, and emailed each other back and forth. Bill discovered Leah's naturally smooth singing voice one day over the phone, and insisted upon having his agent speak with her and listen to her sing. It was a set deal from the start. Her dream of becoming an actual artist was beginning to take form.

"Oh. Him." Colden rolled his eyes at the mention of Bill's name. "I don't get why you even give that guy the time of day, Leah. It's not like he actually cares about you."

"Don't you dare say that!" Leah shot Colden a horrified look. "You have no idea what kind of friendship Bill and I have. What right do you have to say who can care about who? I happen to care about him very much!" She was starting to get angry. Usually when people, especially Colden, picked on her for being friends with Bill Kaulitz, she ignored them or gave them a generic answer to shut them up. But this time, and she didn't know why (which made her even _more_ upset,) it was different.

"Leah," Stevie quietly said to her friend as she grabbed a hold of her hand. "Just ignore him, he's being a jerk." She gave her brother a warning look.

Colden sat there with a smug look on his face and said nothing as he continued to eat his apple.

"You just don't get it," Leah finally said after she had calmed herself down. "And if you're not willing, after all this time, to even _try_ to accept mine and Bill's friendship," tears began to form in her eyes as she locked gazes with Colden. "Then screw you!" She got up and ran to the girls' bathroom outside of the cafeteria.

"Well _that_ was nicely handled, Colden!" Stevie retorted as she got up and followed after Leah to comfort her.

"Whatever!" he called after her. "I'll just talk to her tonight!" _Oh, I'll talk to her, alright,_ Colden gathered up his tray and headed towards the trash. _Things are about to get VERY interesting._

**XXXX**

"That should about do it!" Bill sighed happily as he finalized the last detail of Leah's record deal. "You start recording on Monday!"

"I can't wait to see you!" giggled Leah as she shifted the phone to her left ear and finished straightening up the living room. She was practically jumping out of her skin with excitement; for two entire weeks, she and Stevie (who was coming along to see Tom,) were going to fly out to LA to catch up with the guys as well as kick off Leah's new career.

"I can't wait to see you too!" smiled Bill. It had been almost half a year since he last saw Leah, and that was _entirely_ too long for him. "We're going to have so much fun when you girls get here!"

Leah flopped onto her black leather couch and sighed deeply. "I can't wait! When we get there we'll have to…"

_CRASH!_

"What was that?" questioned Bill.

"I have no idea," Leah slowly said as she stood up. "I'll call you back later, Billa. Okay?"

He agreed and they said their goodbyes. Leah set the phone down on the coffee table and went to go investigate as to what had made the huge noise.

She made her way into the kitchen and involuntarily let out a small scream when she saw none other than Colden himself, sitting at her kitchen table.

"Colden! What the hell are you doing here?" Leah breathlessly exclaimed as she recovered from the initial shock. "How did you get in here?"

"Leah, Leah, Leah…" Colden stood up from the table, ignoring her questions. "I tried to warn you about that _Bill_." A sour look spread across his face and his icy eyes pierced Leah's very being. "But you didn't listen, did you?"

Leah was starting to freak out. "Colden, I'm going to tell you this one time. Get out of my house. Now." She slowly started to back out of the room.

"Not on your life, sweetheart," he smiled evilly.

Leah ran.

**XXXX**


	7. Chapter 7

"Leah! Leah honey, I need you to wake up!"

_It hurts so much…_

"Why isn't she responding? He must have done some serious damage."

_Why would he do this to me?_

"That ambulance is taking forever! Leah! Leah, stay with me!"

_The pain is so intense…_

"She's still not responding! Where's that ambulance?"

_I can't feel my left arm…_

"When I find that brother of mine, I'm going to make him wish he was never born!"

_Stevie? How did she find me?_

"Come on, Leah! Stay with me, here! The medics are on their way! Just hold on for a little bit longer!"

_How long have I been lying here?_

"Oh thank God! Okay Leah, here comes the ambulance. Don't worry sweetie, we're going to get you taken care of."

_Where's Colden?_

"We're in here! Hurry, she's lost a lot of blood!"

_My head is throbbing, it hurts so much…_

"Please, please, Leah! Hold on! These nice men are going to take good care of you."

_Where are we going? I can't see anything…_

"We'll be at the hospital in no time, sweetie. God, can't this ambulance go any faster?"

_Is this real life?_

"Yes, doctor. I'm her best friend. I called her earlier, and when she didn't pick up, I went over to see if anything was wrong. And when I got there…"

_Jim's going to be mad if there's blood on the carpet…_

"Be strong, Leah! I'll see you when you get out of surgery! I promise!

_Everything's fading…_

**XXXX**

Bill sighed as he sat by Leah's side in the small hospital room. When Stevie had called and told him and Tom about what had happened, they flew over from Germany as fast as the plane would take them.

It had nearly been a week since the incident, and Leah had never regained full consciousness. Stevie and Tom had gone back to her place to rest about an hour ago, but Bill insisted that he'd stay by Leah's side no matter what.

Every once in a while, she'd lightly squeeze Bill's hand; surging his hope to unreachable heights, only for them to be dashed once again as she fell back into her unconscious state.

He stood up slowly, careful to set Leah's hand down gingerly. Making his way to the window, he thought to himself, _"Why would he do this to her?"_

Leah had told Bill about Colden many times over the phone, and from what she had told him, he seemed like a decent guy. But now...

Bill's expression twisted into one of sorrow and pain as he attempted to imagine what she had been through. _"It's just not fair! I should have been there to protect her! I could have done something! Why did I have to hang up when she heard that noise? I should have known that something was wrong."_ He rested his head against the glass window and let a few silent tears slip from his eyes.

"Leah…Leah…" he whispered through the tears. "I'm so sorry…"

Glancing back at the hospital bed, seeing Leah all bandaged up and bruised, Bill made a conscious decision.

"I'm never going to leave her side again."

Wiping his tears, he took a deep breath and made his way back over to the bed, taking a hold of her hand.

"I promise, Leah. Things are going to be different from now on." He gently squeezed her hand and studied her face, awestruck at how amazingly beautiful she was, even covered in bruises and bandages.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, though he would never admit to it, he knew he loved her. He just hoped and prayed she'd wake up soon.

**XXXX**


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh my God…oh my God! Bill come quickly! She's waking up!" Stevie frantically called for Bill as Leah's eyes fluttered open.

"Are you serious?" His voice was shaky with emotion.

He rushed to Leah's hospital bed and took a hold of her hand. It had been three weeks since Colden invaded her home and attacked her with a Louisville Slugger; breaking most of the ribs on her right side and her left arm, as well as dealing several blows to her head. Three weeks and two surgeries later, Stevie and Tom had just about given up hope, but Bill refused to accept that his best friend would never wake up.

His voice choked with emotion, Bill could all but manage, "Leah? Leah, sweetie, can you hear me?"

When Leah lifted her tearful eyes to Bill's and tried her best to smile, he finally broke down.

"Oh, Leah…I thought…_we_ thought we'd lost you! I can't believe I let this happen…if I could just go back and fix this whole mess…can you ever forgive…"

Leah lifted her shaky fingers and placed them on Bill's lips to quiet him. Tears streaming down his face, he looked into her eyes and knew she didn't blame him for what had happened.

The corners of Leah's mouth curved ever so slightly upward as she attempted to wipe the tears from Bill's eyes.

_Silly boy. Don't cry for me! I'll be okay. Don't you worry, it's not your fault at all._

Stevie had silently stepped into the hallway to call Tom, who had run to Starbucks to get the three of them some coffee, and nearly fell apart when she told him the good news. After drying her tears, she started to quietly creep back into Leah's hospital room, but stopped short when she saw the two of them, sharing a special moment.

Smiling, Stevie stepped back into the hallway to wait for Tom, not wanting to spoil their precious time alone.

She giggled to herself. _Maybe now they'll be able to see how much they love each other…every one can see it except for them!_

**XXXX**

**1 Year Later—January '09**

"Billa, I don't know if I can do this…"

Leah anxiously stood on the balcony of the new condo she shared with the German rock god, her arms tightly wrapped around herself. "I can't face him; not now…"

Bill took her in her arms and pulled her into a comforting embrace. "Leah, honey, you have nothing to worry about; not while you're with us."

Colden was being released after nine months of a well-deserved hell in the Allegheny County Jail back in Pennsylvania. As soon as she had recovered and legally emancipated herself from Jim (who was never even around enough to take care of her anyways), Leah moved to LA with Bill, Tom, and Stevie; if only to escape having to face the slim possibility of running into Colden once he was eventually released.

Leah had finally started to make a name for herself in the music industry, along with a little help from Tokio Hotel, and was about to have her first single released on MTV, when the shocking news of Colden's release reached her.

Paranoid and scared to death of the mere thought of coming into contact with that monster again, Leah had postponed the debut and refused to leave the condo, even with Stevie or the twins. Bill and Tom, the sweet guys they were, tried as best as they could to make her feel better, but nothing would ease her mind.

Stevie would talk to her when the twins weren't around; girl to girl, to try to bring her some kind of relief.

Leah felt so horribly; here she was, wrapped up in her own fear and paranoia, when poor Stevie had put aside her pain and hurt of practically losing the only family she had left to make sure Leah was okay. Stevie was truly Leah's best friend.

"What if he finds me?" she mumbled and she buried her face into Bill's chest as he held her tightly. "What am I going to do?"

Bill smiled softly and lifted her chin, gently looking into her tearful grey eyes. He whispered lovingly, "He'll have to get through _me_, first."

Gently placing a kiss on her forehead as her silent tears began to fall, Bill wrapped Leah in his arms, never wanting to let go. _No matter what it takes, sweetie; we…I won't let him get away with this._

**XXXX**


	9. Chapter 9

"Come on, Leah!" Stevie had to practically drag her best friend out of the door. "You need the fresh air, and _I_ need the new clothes!"

_Shopping is JUST the thing to take her mind off of all this madness,_ she thought to herself as Leah reluctantly gave in and went out the door without a fight.

"Just promise me this, Stevie," Leah said as she slid into the passenger seat of Stevie's car. "If I so much as see something that _remotely_ reminds me of…you know who…can we please just go back home?" She shot her friend a pleading look and just knew she couldn't say no!

"Well…" Stevie started and slid her key into the ignition. "I guess. But we have to stay at least an hour! NO exceptions!"

Leah rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. "Fine."

They pulled out of the driveway and sped off on their shopping adventure.

**XXXX**

"Are you serious?" Leah's eyes grew wide at the sight of Stevie's enormous pile of clothes. "There's enough here to clothe an entire third world country!"

Stevie and Leah laughed and ran into the boutique's dressing room to try them all on. The giggles and the squeals of delight coming from that dressing room gradually grew into an all out laughing fest as the afternoon went on, almost causing them to be thrown out of the boutique several times; each time having been responded with even _more_ laughter and silliness. Eventually, they made their purchases and left, much to the delight of the boutique's owner. Piling back into Stevie's car, the girls happily started to drive home.

"Oh, turn it up!" Leah exclaimed as she cranked the volume on the radio. "I love this song!" _Make Some Noise_ blared through the speakers of Stevie's car and Leah squealed in excitement. Stevie giggled at her friend and then joined her, practically screaming the lyrics and dancing along with the music. When the song ended, the DJ's voice silenced Leah for the rest of the day; _"Alright! You were just listening to Make Some Noise by Tokio Hotel! Speaking of the German rock band, the lead singer, Bill Kaulitz, has been captured in recent photographs comforting his rumored girlfriend, Leah McAllister, over the shocking news of the rising star's former friend turned attacker, Colden Mitchell's release this past week. Will this sudden bump in the road cause Leah to spiral out of control? Anything could happen, but I'm sure every one agrees that Bill will be by her side through it all. We'll be right back after this!"_

**XXXX**

Sitting alone in her room back at the condo, Leah pondered the events of the past week. Things had gone so sour so quickly.

_Maybe he's changed…_she thought to herself as she rose from the bed. _Maybe he's learned better coping skills to deal with his rage problems. Maybe…NO!_ She stopped herself and closed her eyes.

_There's no way I can talk myself into believing that things are different now. He almost killed me! _Walking to the door to step outside onto the balcony, Leah sighed and once again reached for her cigarettes. _Why do I keep wanting to forgive and forget?_

Bill silently leaned against the doorframe, unbeknownst to Leah, studying her; his heart breaking. He wanted so badly to just run up to her, drown her in a warm hug, kiss her, and reassure her that everything would be alright. But he couldn't. He didn't know if everything _would_ be alright. Turning to leave, Bill thought to himself, "_If she only knew…"_

Stopping halfway out the door, he straightened, and a look of determination crossed his face. _"And why shouldn't she know? It's been long enough, I think. I should tell her how I feel."_

Turning back around, he took a deep breath and headed towards the balcony. _Just do it, Kaulitz. Don't flake out, now. Just tell her._ "Hey you," he smiled as he crept up behind Leah and wrapped his arms around her waist in a friendly hug. "Whatcha doing?"

Leah smiled and snuffed out her cancer stick. "Oh, just trying to take my mind off of things. Want one?" She nodded toward the pack of cigarettes sitting on the little table next to them.

"Nah, not right now," Bill smiled and slid over to the railing, leaning up against it. "But I _do_ want to talk to you about something."

Leah cocked one eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Oh really? And what might that be, best friend?"

Bill sighed. "Leah, it's pretty obvious that rumors are spreading about us." He looked into her sparkling grey eyes and cracked a smile.

"I've noticed!" Leah laughed and playfully bumped him with her hip. "What about them?"

Bill cleared his throat. "Well…" he started. "Why don't we give them something to talk about?"

Leah's jaw dropped, and her eyes widened with both surprise and delight. "You're not saying what I think you're saying, right?" she smiled.

Bill's smile seemed to take over his entire face as he gazed into her eyes. Taking her by the hand, he pulled her close and slid his arms around her waist. "Leah, I love you with everything I have in me. I don't know what I'd ever do if you weren't in my life. Over the past year, I've tried again and again to tell myself otherwise, but I just couldn't do it; now I realize that I need you." Tears started to well up in his dark chocolaty eyes.

"Leah, if you'll have me, I'll be the happiest man alive."

A single tear silently slipped from Leah's eyes, and her lip started to quiver with emotion. Looking into his eyes, she already knew her answer. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered through her tears, "Nothing in this world would make me happier."

**XXXX**


	10. Chapter 10

Things had been going great for Leah ever since she and Bill started dating. Her stress and anxiety levels drastically reduced, she started going out more with Stevie and the guys, and almost every trace of Colden had escaped from her mind. Life was now starting to get back on track; her first single, Sleepless Revelations, finally made its MTV debut, and she couldn't be happier.

Even Bill and Tom's lives seemed to be growing more and more hectic, but in a fantastic way! Their newest album was set to be released toward the end of the year, and things couldn't be better.

One cold February night, Bill, out cold from a night of celebrating both his and his girlfriend's rising success, was completely oblivious to a very awake Leah, lying against his rising and falling chest; sorting through in her mind the good and the bad of what she was about to do. Carefully and quietly, she slipped out of Bill's arms, and made her way to the bathroom; locking herself in.

It being three in the morning, Leah wasn't counting on anyone being awake, so it seemed like the perfect time to carry out her awful deed.

She wasn't sure why, but for the past few nights, vivid and horrible nightmares plagued her mind of the night Colden had attacked her. She thought she had buried that memory for good when she fell into her coma over a year ago; why were they suddenly resurfacing now?

She'd wake up screaming and crying from the nightmares; they seemed so real! She was grateful that Bill had been there to lovingly comfort her every time, but she didn't want to be any more trouble to him. He had done so much for her already. She didn't want to be a burden anymore.

Tears slipping from her eyes, Leah started to fill the bathtub.

**XXXX**

Tom lay wide awake in his and Stevie's room on the other side of the condo. Sitting up in bed, he glanced over at his sleeping beauty, and a loving smile crept onto his face.

Brushing her long brown hair off of her face and kissing her cheek softly, he got up and made his way to the kitchen. Even though it was three in the morning, he was hungry (as usual) and opened the fridge to make himself a sandwich.

Stevie was usually the master sandwich maker, and it was one of the many reasons Tom loved her to death, but he DID know how to make a mean turkey, ham, cheese and ketchup sandwich…his all time favorite.

As he gathered all of his supplies, the distant sound of running water stopped him short. He stood there in silence for about a minute, before deciding to go and investigate.

Following the sound closely, Tom crept to the other side of the condo, all the way to Bill and Leah's bathroom. He pressed his ear against the door and listened intently. Soft, pitiful, almost silent cries reached his ears; he tried the door knob, but to no avail.

Remembering his pocket knife in his pajama pants (he and Bill had been opening a lot of packages and gifts from fans earlier that night), he searched until he found what he assumed would make a good lock pick. Carefully and quickly, he worked on the lock on the door, not wanting to wake anyone up.

As he finally managed to unlock the door, the soft cries were suddenly cut off. Cautiously he slipped the pocketknife back into his pocket and slowly opened the door.

**XXXX**

Leah's mind started to fog as she held herself under the water. Her lungs wanted so desperately to grasp at the air they were being deprived of, but she fought back as her world started fading. All of a sudden, she felt two strong arms lift her from the water. "Oh my God! Leah, what are you doing?"

**XXXX**

"Bill! Bill, wake up, you idiot!" Tom almost screamed into the hall. "Leah's in real trouble! Get your butt in here!"

The sound of Tom's yelling jolted Bill awake. Realizing what was going on, he hurriedly stumbled out of bed and rushed down the hall; bursting into the bathroom, he was horrified at the sight before him.

Leah lay sprawled out on the floor, soaked and sputtering as Tom tried his best to administer CPR, and failing to regain his composure.

"What the hell is going on?" Bill sank to his knees and took Leah in his arms as she started to cough up water and slowly become aware of what was happening. "Leah, honey, what were you thinking?"

"I found her in here," Tom managed as he fought back tears. "I pulled her out on the water as quickly as I could, Bill. I swear, if I had known what was going to happen…" His voice trailed off as a few tears slipped from his soft chocolaty eyes.

Leah, now fully awake and aware of the situation that was unfolding around her, started to resist Bill's help. "Why didn't you just let me go?" she asked through her tears and tried to stand up. "Why did you have to stop me?"

"Leah, how could you ask such a thing?" Bill's voice cracked with emotion as he stood up and wrapped her in his arms. "Tom and I love you so much, do you know that? Why would you try and kill yourself?"

Tom stood up and joined in their hug; Leah smothered in Kaulitz love on both sides. "Yeah, Leah! Why would you ever think for one moment that this would be the right thing for you to do?" He buried his face in her dripping wet hair and let the tears come without fighting them.

"Because," she tearfully whispered. "I'm not good enough for you guys. You and Stevie always do so much for me; I didn't want to be a burden anymore!" She leaned her head against Bill's chest and sobbed.

Bill closed his tearful eyes and whispered, "Leah, sweetie, you could NEVER be a burden to us! How could you think that?" Lifting her chin and wiping her eyes, he weakly smiled. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"That goes for both of us," Tom turned to face Leah. "Life without you would be unlivable. Whatever thoughts you have telling you otherwise, you need to get rid of them, because they're not true!"

"I just can't take all these nightmares about Colden anymore!" Leah closed her eyes. "I hate what they're doing to me! I hate that these conflicting thoughts and emotions about forgiving and forgetting him are tearing me up inside! I just wanted it all to stop!" She broke down and buried her face in her hands, shaking with the sobs that racked her dripping body.

Surrounding her in another Kaulitz force field of love and tears, Bill and Tom just held her, not knowing what to say.

After a few minutes, Bill spoke up. "Leah, would it make you feel better to just…forgive Colden and move on? Just wipe the slate clean and start all over again?"

Leah sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I certainly don't want to just let him back into my life, but I just want some peace of mind. I can't take all this hate; it's eating me alive!"

"Well, then," Tom sniffed as he dried his tears and stroked Leah's hair. "Let's just forgive and forget. I don't want to see him hurt you more than he already has."

And with that, the three dried their tears, left the mess in the bathroom for the morning, and wearily went to bed.

As Leah lay snuggled up next to Bill, he thought to himself, "_I wish I could just take away all of her pain. It kills me knowing how much he hurt her._"

Gingerly placing a kiss on her tear-stained face, Bill whispered to Leah, "I love you SO much. One day you'll break away from that monster." He rested his head back onto his pillow and slowly drifted to sleep, his most precious treasure lying in his arms.

**XXXX**


	11. Chapter 11

It took a while for things to become normal again. Leah didn't want Stevie to know about the whole bathroom incident, and made Bill and Tom promise not to say a word. The very thought of Stevie finding out turned Leah's stomach; she had already hurt the guys, she didn't want to upset Stevie as well.

Little by little, Leah slowly got back to a normal daily routine. She'd get up, have toast and black coffee with Bill (it was his favorite, and he got her hooked on it), go to the gym for a couple of hours, come home and shower, and then spend the rest of the day doing whatever was on the agenda.

She wasn't sure why, but one of the things she particularly loved doing the most was going grocery shopping with Bill; it was hysterical to watch his eyes light up whenever they passed the candy isle.

The thrill of wearing disguises so no one would recognize them gripped Leah every time she and Bill went out on a little shopping adventure. At first, Bill had insisted that security follow them everywhere they went, but slowly he compromised with Leah to just let them follow at a distance. Besides, it was his cute little bonding time with his girlfriend; even if it was over picking out what kind of Skittles to buy, it was precious to him.

About a month after the incident, he and Leah made their way to the store; Tom kept complaining about how there was "nothing to eat in this damn house," so a grocery run was much needed.

Bill and Leah were standing once again in the candy isle, arguing about what to get.

"But Leah," Bill put on his best pouty face. "Skittles are the best! Every time I eat them, there's a party in my tummy!"

Leah rolled her eyes, clearly not swayed by his puppy dog pout. "Billa. We get Skittles _every time_! Don't you want to try something different?" She flashed a teasing smile in his direction. "Or is my big, bad, German rock star too much of a baby to broaden his horizons?"

Bill narrowed his eyes and slowly crept over to Leah. "Don't make me do it." A devilish smile spread across his face.

"Bill, not here," Leah smiled and stepped to the other side of the shopping cart. "You know how much I hate…"

Bill flew to her side and unmercifully attacked her with tickles, giggling like a little girl.

Leah's laughter exploded from inside of her as Bill tickled her relentlessly. "Billa! Billa, stop it!"

"Not until I get my Skittles!" he grinned and kissed her neck.

Tears of laughter were streaming down her face. "I mean it! What are people going to…"

She suddenly bumped into someone, sending the contents of their grocery bags crashing to the floor.

"Oh my God, I am so…" Leah froze as she came face to face with the last person she expected to see in LA. "Colden?"

**XXXX**

Colden stood rooted to the floor, not completely sure whether he should say something or not. "_Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God, it's Leah!_" he thought to himself while silently picking up the spilled contents of his grocery bags. "_What am I supposed to do?_"

"Wow," Leah mumbled. "That's the second time now that I've run into you and caused a disaster." A sheepish smile crept onto her face. "Let me help you with that…"

"No…no, it's okay," Colden stumbled over his words as he managed to get everything back into his bags. "I should just go."

Bill stopped him short. "Wait. Uh, Leah and I have something we want to tell you."

Taking Bill by the hand, Leah faced Colden and looked him straight in the eye. She was met with a crashing wave of emotion as she found herself looking into those icy blue eyes she had grown to love and despise. Clearing her throat and giving Bill's hand a slight squeeze, Leah mustered up all of her courage.

"Colden, what you did to me was wrong. I'm going to have to carry it around with me for the rest of my life."

Tears started to mist in Colden's eyes as he prepared himself for the rage he had so long been expecting to rain down on him. He hung his head and continued to listen.

"And even though I'll never be able to forget what happened, I just wanted to let you know," her voice cracked with emotion. "I forgive you."

Colden's head snapped up. Had he heard correctly? "I'm sorry, what did you say?" he whispered as a single tear slipped from his iceberg eyes.

"She said," Bill reaffirmed as he wrapped his arm around Leah's waist. "She forgives you."

A wave of emotion crashed over Colden as he stood facing the person he had almost killed, trying to grasp those last three words that she had spoken. "Are you serious?" His eyes darted back and forth between Bill and Leah in disbelief.

"Yes, quite serious," Leah said confidently and took a deep breath. "All of this hurt and pain is too much for any of us. I want to—I _need_ to forgive you so I can move on with my life."

Colden couldn't believe it. He had never thought in a million years that Leah would even spit in his direction now, let alone forgive him; even if he _had_ gone through intensive therapy and anger management while incarcerated. "I don't know what to say…"

"You don't have to say anything," Bill quickly stated. "Just know that we're not holding any grudges. Come on, Leah." He started to turn back to the cart.

"Wait," Leah reached into her handbag and pulled out a slip of paper and a pen. "Here," she said as she scribbled her number and handed it to Colden. "In case you ever need someone to talk to."

He took the paper and held it in his hand for a few seconds. Glancing up into Leah's soft grey eyes, he managed, "Thank you. Thank you both."

Bill decided not to say anything, because he knew he was seconds away from tearing into the guy. Instead he gave him a slight nod in acknowledgement and walked back over to the cart to wait for Leah.

Knowing that Bill was getting a little more than aggravated, Leah sighed and ventured another look into the blue abyss that was Colden's eyes. "Just remember, any time you want to talk…"

"I know," Colden weakly smiled. "And I know this doesn't even begin to make up for it," another tear fell from his eyes. "But I am SO sorry for what I did to you."

Leah shook her head. "It's in the past. I know you're a different person now. Just remember what we told you." Giving him one last reassuring look, she whispered, "Goodbye, Colden."

And with that, they separated, and Leah made her way back to Bill, who was still waiting by the cart.

"You okay?" he asked her with concern in his voice. He wrapped her in a giant hug.

"I will be," she sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "It just makes me feel so much better knowing that this whole ordeal is over with." She smiled and looked into Bill's warm eyes. "Now, how about we get you those Skittles?"

Bill chuckled and kissed her forehead. "How about we just go home?"

"Sounds good to me," Leah laughed and gently kissed him. "I'm sure Tom and Stevie will be dying to hear about our little adventure."

**XXXX**


	12. Chapter 12

The days passed slowly for Leah after her unexpected encounter with Colden. She and Stevie stayed behind while the twins flew off to Germany every couple of weeks to record last minute things for the new album, which was set to release at the end of the year. The girls rarely saw much of Georg and Gustav anymore, so they and the twins had decided that when they came back from their latest recording adventure, they'd bring the G's with them to stay at the condo for a couple of weeks to catch up.

Bill and Tom (along with Gustav and Georg) weren't coming back for six more days, and it felt like and eternity to the girls. Though there was much to do, what with photoshoots and interviews regarding Leah being an up and coming artist and what not, the girls almost felt like they couldn't enjoy themselves without the guys.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Stevie sighed as she plopped down onto the couch next to Leah.

Closing her eyes and leaning back, Leah took a deep breath. "Photoshoot with Seventeen magazine at two."

Stevie glanced at the gothic-style grandfather clock in the corner of the room. "Well, right now it's 10 o'clock. We at least want to be there by one. So we should leave at…"

"Twelve-ish?" Leah finished as she peeked open one eye and stole a glance at her best friend. Honestly, if Stevie hadn't been there for her while Bill was gone, she didn't know how she would have managed to survive. Smiling, she retorted, "And knowing how long it takes for _some people_ to get ready…"

"Hey!" giggled Stevie and playfully swatted Leah's arm. "It takes a lot to be this amazingly, stunningly, unbelievably gorgeous!" She batted her eyelashes and struck a pose, and then gave way to a fit of laughter.

Leah laughed along. "Oh right, sure. I know EXACTLY what you mean!" She turned to face Stevie. "People think that just because we look so beautiful _every single time_ we go out in public, we naturally look that way!" She struck a pose and laughed.

The girls jumped when Leah's phone suddenly rang on the coffee table in front of them. Giving each other a look, they giggled as Leah picked it up and answered it. "Hello?"

"Uh, hi, is this Leah McAllister?"

"Yes it is, may I ask whose calling?"

The voice on the other end grew quieter. "It's me. Colden."

At first, alarm sprung up in Leah's chest, but remembering that everything was alright between her and Colden, a slight smile appeared on her face. "Oh hi, Colden!"

"Colden?" Stevie voiced both her concern and excitement at the mention of her brother's name. She hadn't spoken to him in over half a year, now.

Leah gave Stevie's knee a reassuring squeeze. "Is everything alright? It's been three weeks and you haven't said a word to me."

"Oh, yeah…yeah, everything's great!" Colden exclaimed. "Sorry I haven't called. I've been, uh, busy."

Leah raised her eyebrow and turned on the speakerphone. "Oh, okay. Hey, Stevie's here with me."

"Hi Colden," Stevie smiled as tears sprang into her eyes. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"Hey, little sis! Yeah, I know what you mean."

Stevie glanced at Leah, who nodded her head in encouragement. "How have you been? Are you living in LA now?"

"Yeah," came Colden's voice through the speaker. "I just settled in about two weeks ago."

"Oh, that's good, that's good," Stevie smiled. "We should get together sometime. I miss you." She swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

There were a few long moments of silence. Finally, Colden said, "Yeah. I'd like that. I really would."

Leah interjected, "Well, if you're free tonight, we could all meet up and grab something to eat." She gave Stevie a quick smile. "It would give us a chance to catch up."

"That'd be great!" Colden enthusiastically said as a smile crept onto his face. "Hey listen, call me later with the details; I have to go. Talk to you later."

"Bye," the girls replied in unison. Hanging up, Leah sighed and smiled at Stevie.

_Maybe this is the first step in making things right again,_ she thought. _Maybe things can finally go back to the way they were._

**XXXX**

After the magazine photoshoot, Stevie and Leah met up with Colden at an Italian restaurant not too far from the condo. Tearful hugs were exchanged, but it didn't take long for them to be cracking up and goofing around, just like back in Pennsylvania at Samuel Hemmingway High. Stories of what had happened over the past year were told over dinner, and before they knew it, it was time to head out.

While Stevie called a cab to take them home, Colden pulled Leah aside. "Leah, I just wanted to apologize again."

Leah looked him in the eyes. "Colden, I told you…"

"Please," he smiled. "I know what I did was inexcusable, and I know there's no way I'd ever be able to make up for it," he reached into his pocket. "But I hope this will show just a fraction of how sorry I am."

He handed Leah a small box, and her eyes grew wide. "Colden, really, this isn't necessary. You didn't have to…"

"But I wanted to," he smiled and gave her an apologetic look. "Go ahead, open it!"

Raising her eyebrow, Leah untied the bow on the small, red box. Opening it slowly, she gasped at the white gold ring that sparkled in the cold March air. "Colden!" She quickly shut the box. "Bill and I love each other! Why would you…"

"No, no, no, no, no!" laughed Colden as he frantically waved his hands. "It's nothing like that, I promise." He took the box from her hands, opened it back up, and took the ring from it. "Look, I have one, too," he said as he compared the ring to the one on his own finger. "They're friendship rings. I know it's not much," he slipped the ring on her finger. "But I just wanted to take a step in the right direction."

Leah didn't know what to say. She stood there, looking at this band on her finger, and no words came to mind. Should she accept it? It seemed like Colden was genuinely remorseful about what he had done, and if this was the way he wanted to try to make amends, then she guessed she's go along with it.

"I don't know what to say…"

Colden shrugged his shoulders. "Like I said, it's no big deal. I just hope you'll give our friendship a second chance."

"Hey, Leah!" Stevie called and waved to get her attention. "Cab's here!"

Leah turned to leave, but before she did, she gave Colden a quick hug. "Thanks, Colden. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Sure thing," he hugged her back. "Now hurry up, or you and Stevie will miss your cab!"

She smiled and ran to join Stevie and drove into the night.

Colden smiled to himself and chuckled.

"Hook, line, and sinker."

**XXXX**


	13. Chapter 13

"He what?" Bill nearly dropped his phone. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

The plane ride home with Tom, Gustav, and Georg suddenly became significantly less enjoyable for him.

"Because!" Leah explained. "It's nothing to worry about! It's just a stupid ring! It means nothing to me!"

"Nothing, huh?" Bill scoffed into the phone. "It _only_ came from the person who almost took your life, is all…"

That last one stung. "Bill, please try to understand this." Leah was almost in tears. "He's trying so hard to make up for what he did, and God knows he'll never be able to, but at least he's trying! Why can't you just accept that?"

"I already almost lost you once!" Bill's voice quaked and his eyes started to mist. "I can't go through that again!"

Georg, Tom, and Gustav had been goofing around with David Jost, the band's manager, when they caught that last part of Bill's conversation with Leah.

Tom shifted his eyes over to his "little" brother and a wave of concern flooded through him.

"Trouble with Leah?" Gustav whispered to no one in particular.

Georg and Jost exchanged worried looks and glanced in Bill's direction.

They weren't eavesdropping…they all were just…listening in on the conversation with love and concern. That's all.

"Billa, honey," Leah pleaded. "I thought we agreed that forgiving Colden was the right thing to do, here."

Bill ran his fingers through his newly dreaded hair. It was supposed to be a little surprise for the girls when they got home, but given the circumstances, he doubted it would be the topic of their conversations when he got back.

"I know, I know," he sighed. "I just didn't think he'd be in your life _this much_ so quickly; especially since now you have your career to focus on."

It was a lame excuse, he knew, but it would kill him inside if Leah knew that he still harbored so much hatred toward the man who almost took the life of his precious angel. One could hardly blame him, though.

"Bill, honey, why is it so hard for you to just…learn to live with the fact that I'm going to have Colden in my life?" Leah was starting to get even more upset. "And what about Stevie?"

"What _about_ Stevie?" Bill questioned, closing his eyes and leaning back into his seat in exasperation.

Tom's ears pricked up when he heard his girlfriend's name. _Oh please don't tell me there's something wrong with Stevie…_

"Colden is the only family that Stevie has," Leah nearly burst into tears. "I couldn't live with myself knowing that because of me, she could never speak to him again! I'd _kill_ to have a brother or sister!"

"Leah, sweetheart, you have me! _And_ Stevie! _And_ the guys!" Bill opened his eyes back up. "We're all trying so hard to be there for you, and we're doing nothing but love you and care for you and making sure that…that…" He couldn't bring himself to say it.

Leah fell silent.

"I'm sorry," Bill whispered as his eyes grew moist. "You know I didn't mean that. I love you _so_ much, Leah…"

"I know, Billa," Leah sighed. "I love you, too. I just don't know what we're going to do about this situation."

She didn't want to give up on Colden, but if it meant losing Bill…

Gustav exchanged worried glances with the others. "I have a feeling that somebody's about to get hurt…"

**XXXX**

Tom sighed as he sat on the bed next to Stevie. Bill and Leah were in their room, discussing the whole Colden-issue privately, Jost and the G's went out to dinner to discuss album details, and he and Stevie just felt disgusted.

Sighing and taking a hold of her hand, Tom quietly murmured, "Well. This is kind of a disaster."

Stevie squeezed his hand. "Tell me about it." She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I know my brother can be a real pain in the ass, but this whole thing is just a huge mess." Flopping back, onto the bed, she grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it.

"Well," Tom smiled at her. "On the bright side, you still got me, babe." Lifting the pillow from her face, he started kissing her neck, leaving a trail of them all the way up to her lips, kissing them softly.

Stevie smiled and looked into his velvety soft eyes. "You always know exactly what to say, Tomi."

He smiled and lay down beside her and faced her, propping himself up on his left elbow. "I try." He shot her one of his famous "eye-rape" looks and leaned in closer, resting his right hand on her hip. "But, you know, you're the first girl I've ever been in a _real_ relationship with."

"Really?" Stevie smiled from ear to ear. "And what makes me so different from all the other girls?"

Tom had been waiting so long for her to ask him that. Resting his forehead on hers, he smiled. "You have the gentlest soul of anyone I've ever met. The way you light up a room by just walking into it takes my breath away. To hear you laugh instantly makes my day better, no matter how awful I'm feeling. It's the little things you do, like making the most amazing sandwiches of _all time_," he smirked. "That makes me love you even more. And even though you might not think so, I think you're the most beautiful on days like this; when you have no makeup on, your hairs pulled back, and when you're wearing my basketball shorts and t-shirts. You. Are. Amazing. And I love you."

Stevie's face was flooded with tears; she knew that he loved her, but never like this! Pulling him close, she kissed him and then buried her face in his neck.

"This is the first time I've ever truly felt beautiful," she whispered through her tears. "You never told me any of those things before! Why?"

"Because," Tom smiled and wrapped his arms around her, snuggling closer and resting his chin on her head. "I wanted to wait for the perfect moment. You're too special to me to just waste it on any ordinary day."

Stevie never felt more loved in her entire life. This man took all of her worries and fears and tossed them aside, making her forget all about them. There was no other place she'd rather be than in his arms, knowing that he absolutely adored everything about her; she felt like she never wanted to let him go.

Lifting her eyes to his, Stevie knew that she was totally, completely, and unashamedly in love with Tom Kaulitz, and it made her heart soar to know that he felt the same way.

"Tomi," she said and slipped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "You are the _best_ thing that's ever happened to me."

Kissing the tip of her nose, Tom whispered, "I better be. Cause you're stuck with me." He looked into her chocolaty brown eyes and knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this angel he held in his arms. "Stevie Mitchell, would you make me the happiest guy alive by spending forever with me?"

"Is that a proposal?" Stevie lifted her head and inquired with a smile.

Tom touched his nose to hers. "You better believe it."

"Well then, just call me Mrs. Kaulitz." Stevie whispered and kissed him like she never kissed him before.

**XXXX**


	14. Chapter 14

"Hello? Is anyone home?" Gerog called out as he stepped through the front door with Gustav.

A loud thud came from the other side of the condo, followed by the slamming of doors and the rushing of feet.

Disheveled and half dressed, Stevie and Tom stumbled down the hall, trying as hard as they could to act like everything was normal. They didn't want anyone to know about the engagement; not just yet…

"Oh, hey guys!" Stevie smiled. "Back so soon?"

"Apparently not soon enough," smirked Gustav as he flung his coat on the couch.

Georg joined in on the teasing. "Uh, we weren't interrupting anything, were we?"

Tom shrugged. "Maybe you were, maybe you weren't." He poked Stevie's ribcage, tickling her as she swatted his arm. "But that's for_ us_ to know…"

"And _us_ never to find out. Yeah, yeah, yeah," Gustav smiled and rolled his eyes. "We know, we know."

Georg plopped down onto the couch. "Where's Bill and Leah? I haven't seen them since before we left for dinner."

"They're, uh," Stevie shot Tom a nervous look. "Um, talking. About…stuff."

"Colden," Gustav simply stated. He caught her shocked expression and added, "I'm quiet, not stupid. I can tell when something's up."

"It's always the quiet ones," Gerog smirked and playfully knocked Gustav onto the couch.

Tom rolled his eyes as the two G's wrestled and made his way into the kitchen. "I need a drink…"

"I'll join you," Stevie quickly followed him. "Try not to kill each other while we're gone, guys."

**XXXX**

Bill sat on the bed with his head in his hands. "I just don't understand how someone can completely change in only a year." He looked up at Leah, who leaned back on the dresser across from the bed. "Something about him just doesn't sit well with me."

Leah sighed. "Bill, I totally understand that you don't see any good in him. But _I_ do. He used to be one of my best friends." She straightened herself and made her way over to the bed, sitting down beside him. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do," Bill said as he shot her a sympathetic look. "It's _him_ I'm having trouble trusting." His gaze lowered to the ring, still on her finger, that represented everything he hated about Colden. To think that that monster was trying to buy his way back into Leah's life…The mere thought flooded his mind with rage. Closing his eyes and clenching his fists, the overwhelming urge to scream overtook his body.

"Dammit, Leah!" he nearly yelled as he quickly stood up. "I just don't want him to hurt you!" He made his way over to the doors of the balcony. Halfway through, he stopped. Hanging his head, he sighed. "I'm sorry, I just…" His voice trailed off.

Leah got up from the bed and slowly walked over to him. "Bill, honey. Just tell me." Leaning against the doorframe, she looked right into his sorrowful eyes. "I won't get mad, I promise."

Taking a deep breath, Bill wasn't sure if he should tell her or not. "It's just….I don't know," he struggled to come up with the right words. "It just feels like he's hiding something." He paused to see if Leah would object, but when silence ensued, he continued. "I mean, don't you think it's a little weird that within a month of him being released, he moved out to LA, we ran into him randomly, and when I wasn't around, he took you out to dinner and bought you jewelry? Call me crazy," he leaned against the doorframe beside her. "But I think something's up."

**XXXX**

After coming back from the kitchen, Stevie and Tom sat down on the loveseat, eating their sandwiches and staring at Georg, who couldn't seem to sit still at all.

Swallowing a chunk of his turkey and ketchup sandwich, Tom questioned, "Anything wrong, G? You seem a little tense."

"No, no. Everything's fine," Georg responded as he nervously drummed his fingers on his knee.

Gustav raised one eyebrow. "You sure? You're acting kind of…weird."

Georg stood up and crossed to the other side of the room, his back facing them. "It's nothing."

"Oh, bull!" smiled Stevie as she munched. "Call it girls' intuition, but I'm thinking our little friend, here is hiding something BIG…"

After a few awkward moments of silence, Georg couldn't take it anymore. "Alright!" He whipped around and faced them, smiling. "If you really must know, I'm expecting a call from someone in about five minutes…"

Stevie smiled and practically bounced out of her seat. "Ooo! Who is it?" She gasped. "Is it a girl?"

"Shhh, Stevie!" Georg nervously and frantically waved his hands. "I'm not telling you any more details!"

A sly smile crept onto Gustav's face. "Oh, come on. What's her name? Hmm?"

"Yeah," Tom antagonized. "Who's the unfortunate girl?"

Georg rolled his eyes and mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what?" Stevie teased. "I didn't quite catch that."

"HER NAME IS MARIA!" he nearly shouted and quickly walked into the kitchen. "AND THAT'S _ALL_ I'M TELLING YOU!"

Tom laughed and taunted him. "Georg's got a girlfriend! Georg's got a girlfriend!"

**XXXX**

Sitting on the floor of the balcony, Leah and Bill tried unsuccessfully to smoke the problem away.

Leah took in a long drag and slowly blew it out. "Well, obviously, something's got to give." She let her eyes wander over to Bill, who sat with his back leaning against the railing, staring into space. "I don't want to give up you _or_ Colden."

Bill just sat there and blinked his eyes, putting out his cigarette. He ventured a look over at Leah. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight, sending shivers down his spine. As she raised her cigarette to her lips, he caught a glimpse at her forearm. It stopped his heart cold.

"Leah, what is that?"

"What is what?" she questioned after blowing smoke.

"Is…is that…did you…" He scooted over to her. "Leah, have you ever…" He couldn't bring himself to look at her arm, so he focused on her puzzled expression.

"What?"

Tears sprang into his eyes. "Have you been hurting yourself?"

All of the blood drained from Leah's face. Putting out her cigarette, she lowered her gaze and started to get up. "I don't know what you're…"

Bill gently grabbed a hold of her hand, not letting her run away from his question. "Leah, honey. _Have you been hurting yourself?_"

Closing her eyes, she sighed and pushed up the sleeve on her left arm.

Bill's eyes brimmed with tears as he gazed at the old and new scars that covered her arm. "Leah, I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay, Billa," she weakly smiled. "I've been getting better; it'll be three weeks tomorrow that I haven't…"

Gingerly, Bill traced Leah's scars, counting them; there were twenty-three of them. Looking into her eyes, he whispered, "Is this because of something I did?"

"No! Oh, God no!" Leah exclaimed. "You helped me get better!" She stroked his cheek, now wet with tears. "You save my life every day, Billa. You're my rock. That's why I hate fighting like this."

Bill once again took a hold of her marked arm, kissing every single one of her scars. "Leah, I promise; if you _never_ hurt yourself again, I won't bother you about Colden anymore." A few tears slipped from his eyes. "Please, just stop doing this to yourself."

**XXXX**


	15. Chapter 15

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

_That little bitch deserves what's coming to her._

"I don't want to hurt her again."

_ Why not? She hurt you. It's time to get even._

"I'd be taking her away from everything she loves."

_Would you listen to yourself? Be a man._

"What does this have to do with being a man?"

_Men don't take no for an answer. She turned you down._

"She's in love with another man!"

_All the more reason to teach her a lesson. If you can't have her, nobody can._

"Everything about this plan is flawed. Something's bound to go wrong."

_Why? Everything's gone smoothly up to this point._

"But there's only so much I can do. She has to willingly go along with it."

_Which is why we are manipulating her._

"I don't know if I can go through with this."

_You're already in too deep to give in now._

"Why would she ever leave him for _me_?"

_You're twice the man he'll ever be. Have you SEEN him?_

"He took what was rightfully mine."

_ And now you're going to take it back._

"I'll make them pay. They won't know what's coming."

_There we go._

"She'll see. But it will be too late for her. Much too late."

_She won't know what hit her._

"Me. I want her to need me."

_She'll be like putty in your hands._

"In time, they'll pay. They'll all pay."

_And they don't suspect a thing._

Colden smirked as he looked himself in the mirror. Sometimes the voices in his head _really_ knew what they were talking about.

**XXXX**

"Really? South Africa?" Leah smiled excitedly as Bill told her the news. "You're going to be filming your music video…in South Africa?"

Bill grinned from ear to ear. "Yep. And guess who's coming with me?" He slid his hands around Leah's waist and pulled her close.

She giggled and pretended to ponder. "Hmm…is it…Gustav?"

"Yes, but no," Bill smirked. "Nice try, though. Keep guessing."

Leah walked her fingers up Bill's chest and put on her cutest puppy dog pout. "Why don't you just tell me? Hmm? The suspense is killing me…"

He gently rubbed the small of her back. "I'll give you a hint. She's cute and sweet and means the world to me."

"It's Stevie," Leah nodded with a smile. "I mean, who else would it be?" She giggled and rested her arms around his neck.

"Well, I suppose she _is_ coming," he replied and cocked his eyebrow. "But that's now who I was talking about, silly!"

Leah gasped dramatically. "It couldn't possibly be _me_, could it?"

Bill squeezed her in a loving embrace and gave her an eskimo kiss. "Who told you?"

"Oh, just a lucky guess." She gave him a quick kiss. "So, when are we leaving?"

"In about a week," he answered. "We've got lots of packing to do!"

Leah sighed in contentment. "Anything special I should know before we embark on this journey?"

Bill laughed. "Well, Georg will be bringing along a special guest…"

"Let me guess," Leah cut in. "Is it…his new girlfriend, Maria?"

"Wow," Bill smiled. "You're getting better at this guessing game!" He dove in for a kiss that almost knocked her off her feet.

**XXXX**

"Oh, Tomi!" This is going to be amazing!" Stevie gushed when Tom told her about the up-coming trip. "I've always wanted to go to Africa!"

Tom smirked. "I figured it would also be a great opportunity to tell everyone about our engagement." He glanced up at her as he lay upside down on their bed. "I want to be able to show off your ring!"

Stevie crouched down in front of him, their faces inches apart. "I think that's a wonderful idea." She kissed his nose and climbed on top of him, entangling their bodies. "I don' think I can keep it a secret much longer!" She giggled and felt him wrap his arms around her.

"Good." Leaning in for a kiss, Tom felt like his heart was about to implode. Stevie was so good for him; ever since they had first started going out, he noticed how much of a better person he'd become. This girl was definitely a keeper.

"Tomi," Stevie searched his eyes. "Do you remember the first time we saw each other?"

A smile crept onto his face as he recalled that night. "It was September 2007. We were playing Cleveland, and you and Leah were in the front row." He laughed. "I knew there was something special about you the second I saw you. What a crazy night that was…"

"I still don't remember some of it!" Stevie giggled as she rested her head on Tom's chest. "But I _do_ remember how crazy it was the next morning!" She winced at the memories flooding her mind. "I was so freaked out!"

Tom sighed with a smile as he held Stevie, caressing her hair and feeling her snuggle closer on top of him. "You were the first girl that I _hadn't_ slept with after a night like that. You just seemed…too good to be true."

"As _I_ recall," Stevie laughed. "I told you I wanted to wait!" She lifted her head and looked him in the eyes. "You don't know how much that meant that you respected me enough to actually listen to me." She traced her fingers along his jaw line, making her way up to his lips, and let her fingers linger there. "But you know, I think I've kept you waiting long enough."

Tom raised his eyebrow and smirked. "You sure about that?"

Stevie kissed him. "I've never been surer of anything in my life."

Clothes went flying.

**XXXX**


	16. Chapter 16

"Oh, please tell me you're joking." Colden couldn't believe it. Leah was _actually_ going halfway around the world with that…that _thing_. "Why on God's green _earth_ would you ever want to do _that_?"

Leah sighed with impatience into the phone. "Because, number one; he's my boyfriend, so why _wouldn't_ I want to go? Number two; this is a once in a lifetime chance for me, here. I'd get to promote my music while _they_ promote _theirs_. And number three; I want to support Bill in everything he does. He's always been there for me, so I'd like to at least return the favor." She sat down softly on the bed, careful not to wake up her sleeping boyfriend. "Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"Leah, you don't understand," Colden said through his teeth, pacing back and forth in his bedroom. "You don't just go on a trip with someone like him and expect me _not_ to have a problem with it!"

"Excuse me?" Leah whispered harshly so as not to wake up Bill. "I was unaware that I had to get your stamp of approval for everything I did!"

Colden stopped in his tracks. "You don't! It's just…" He sighed. "I honestly think you're moving too fast with him. It's bad enough you're living together!"

Leah quickly stood up and clenched her jaw. "And just what right do _you_ have to be giving _me_ relationship advice? Last time I checked, things weren't really working out for you in that department."

Ouch. Colden took a deep breath and chose his words carefully. "I'm just saying…I don't want you to get hurt."

"Yeah, that means a LOT coming from _you_," Leah retorted and crossed the room to peek out of the closed blinds. Realizing the low blow she had just dealt, she closed her eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay, it's okay," Colden sighed. "I was overstepping my boundaries." He sat down on his bed and glanced at their friendship ring on his left ring-finger.

"I hate fighting like this," Leah said as she made her way back to the bed and sat. Facing Bill, she smiled to herself as his chest softly rose and fell under the covers. _"He's like a little angel boy when he sleeps…"_

Colden lay back onto his bed, running his fingers through his hair. "I know, I know. I hate it, too. We both just have _really_ strong tempers," he smirked and closed his eyes.

Gently climbing under the covers next to Bill, Leah smiled. "Yeah, I guess we do," she smiled as she tucked a stray strand of Bill's dreaded hair from his face. "Well, it's almost time for me to get ready to leave. I'll call you when we land, alright?"

"Alright," Colden replied. "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." Leah closed her phone and set it on the bedside table. She stole a glance at her sleeping angel and sighed, not wanting to spoil his slumber. Climbing to his side of the bed, she kissed his neck and whispered, "Billa, honey. Its 5:30, time to get up. We have to leave in an hour."

Bill slowly blinked his sleepy eyes open and yawned, stretching and smiling as Leah wrapped her arms around him, snuggling close. "I don't want to get up yet…"

"Not even for me?" she giggled and looked up at him.

"Well," he smirked as he kissed her forehead. "That depends. Are we packed yet?"

Leah rested her head on his chest. "Mmmhmm. We packed last night."

Leaning into her, he smothered her lovingly with a kiss. "Well then, I most _definitely_ want to get up now. Just for you."

"Mmm, too bad we don't have time for that!" she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. "Maybe tonight after we settle in, okay?"

Crinkling his nose and pecking her on the lips one last time before getting up, he smiled. "You bet."

**XXXX**

"Ohhhhhhh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God, this is awful!" Leah squeezed Bill's hand as the plane took off later that morning. Seated in front of them, Tom and Stevie smiled to themselves; they knew how Leah was whenever she flew.

"Leah honey, it's okay," Bill chuckled as he placed her hands in his. "We'll be in Africa before you know it!"

He always knew just what to say to calm Leah down. Closing her eyes and leaning back, she slowly eased her death grip on his hands. "I'm sorry; I don't know why planes bother me so much…"

"It's okay," Bill smiled. "I used to get pretty freaked out by them, too."

"Yeah," laughed Tom in front of them. "We used to have to practically DRAG him on the plane!"

"Thank you, Tom," Bill quickly shot at his brother. "That's enough out of you!"

Leah peeked open one eye. "Really, Billa?"

He squeezed her hand and smiled. "Really. And if _I_ can get over it, so can you!"

"Yeah, but it took you long enough!" Georg smirked from across the aisle. His girlfriend, Maria, a beautiful Venezuelan model, giggled beside him. She had a feeling she was really going to like these people, especially Stevie and Leah.

Leah took a deep breath and ventured a look out the window; the trees and the buildings grew smaller and smaller as they climbed higher and higher. She looked over at Gustav, who was seated in front of Georg and Maria. He gave her a reassuring smile, and said, "Don't worry, Leah. It get's easier every time, I promise."

Returning his smile, she managed, "It better!"

Bill laughed and kissed her cheek. "And remember, I'll be right by your side the entire time. No need to fear."

Leah rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Billa." She squeezed his hand. "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart," he replied as his heart soared higher than the airplane. "I love you too."

**XXXX**


	17. Chapter 17

The hot, balmy South African sun hit Leah like a ton of bricks. Stepping out of the plane and onto the runway, she smiled as the warmth of the air kissed her skin. Behind her, Bill could detect her excitement and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Welcome to Africa, baby girl."

**XXXX**

After settling into their rooms, which resembled little mini houses (Leah thought they were the most adorable things she'd ever seen), the group decided to just hang out all evening and relax.

"So, tell me, Maria," Leah smiled, sitting on the bed in hers and Bill's room, where they all had congregated. "How exactly did you and Georg meet?"

An enormous smile crept onto Maria's face; looking to Georg, she took his hands in hers and relayed the story to the others. "Well, it was about a month and a half ago…"

"Forty-three days," Georg cut in with a smile.

"You're adorable," Maria giggled and squeezed his hands. "But yeah, _ forty-three days_ ago, Georgie and Gusti were laying down some tracks in Hamburg, you know, last minute things. Anyways, I was supposed to be going in for a photoshoot with Elle magazine, but I ended up at the wrong studio, and accidentally walked into their recording session."

Georg suppressed a laugh. "You should have seen the look on her face when she realized she was in the wrong studio!"

Maria flushed a bright shade of red and gave him half a smile. "Well, _you_ should have seen the look on _your_ face when I walked in! You almost fell off your chair, buddy!"

"Well, our Georgie certainly knows how to make a wonderful first impression!" smiled Stevie, who was sitting on Tom's lap.

"Indeed he does!" Maria giggled and kissed Georg on the tip of his nose. "He stumbled through our first conversation, but I could definitely tell that he was an amazing guy. It didn't take much for me to say 'yes' when he asked me out."

A collective "Awwwe…" erupted throughout the group, with the exception of Gustav, who couldn't stand mushy love junk and rolled his eyes.

"So you guys are official?" Tom smirked with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Yep!" Georg excitedly exclaimed. "I'm dating a model!"

Maria smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. "And I'm dating one fourth of the greatest band to come out of Germany since Nena!"

"Nena?" gasped Bill and nearly caused Leah to fall off his lap. "I love Nena!"

"Oh lord, here we go…" Tom rolled his eyes with a smile.

As Bill told Maria about the time when he and the rest of the band got to meet Nena at the Comet's in 2005, Stevie whispered to Tom, "So when do you think would be a good time to tell them?"

Kissing her neck, he whispered back, "You let me worry about that, baby. I got this."

Listening to Bill tell stories usually excited Stevie, but now she was so nervous about the announcement, she only heard about half of what he said!

"…and I was so nervous! I almost passed out!" Bill radiated with excitement as he ended his story. "It was one of the most special moments in my life!"

"Um, speaking of special moments," Tom cleared his throat and waited until he had everyone's full attention.

Stevie flashed him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand.

"Stevie and I have something we want to tell you!"

**XXXX**

"She hasn't called yet!"

_She's probably with HIM._

"She promised she would call the _second_ she got off that damn plane!"

_You're probably the LAST thing on her mind._

"Her plane should have landed by now. What the hell is taking her so long?"

_She's probably having too much fun with HIM._

Colden paced back and forth in his bedroom, arguing with himself, once again. He hadn't told anyone that the voices were back, but even if he had, who would have cared? Nobody wanted to listen to him anymore. Not even Stevie.

Stevie. His little sister. Tears brimmed Colden's eyes as thoughts of her flooded his mind. Blinking them away, he tried to bring his thoughts back to Leah.

"It's all her fault!"

_She stole your sister away from you._

"She doesn't deserve Stevie! And neither does that…that other Kaulitz fag!"

_Just imagine the things he must do to her…_

"They're all probably just having a grand old time without me! Especially Leah."

_Leah never cared for you. You know that._

"I swear, the next time I see those German fags, I'll…I'll…"

_Just what ARE you going to do?_

"I'll make them wish they were never born."

_You don't have it in you…_

"They'll all pay. Every one of them."

_They're going to hurt, just like you do._

"They're all going to pay for what they've done."

And with that, Colden stormed out of the room to grab his phone.

**XXXX**

"WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!" Stevie and Tom excitedly exclaimed in unison.

A moment of awestruck wonder ensued, quickly followed by a warm and loving tidal wave of "Congratulations!" and "I don't believe it!" and "Why didn't I see this coming?"

Hugs and kisses were exchanged all around; the air buzzing with excitement and ecstasy.

"My big brother is _actually_ getting married!" Bill smiled as he gave Tom a quick brotherly embrace. "I never thought I'd see this day!"

"Neither did I!" laughed Tom with the rest of the group.

Stevie beamed with joy and pride. "I'm just glad I grabbed him before somebody else did!"

Tom slid over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "No one else matters, Stevie. All those other girls mean nothing to me. There's nobody I'd rather spend the rest of my life with than you!" Tears brimmed his eyes as he looked into hers.

"Tomi, you have _no_ idea how ecstatic I am to hear that," Stevie smiled as she let a few silent tears slip. "I love you _so_ much."

"Well good," Tom whispered as he leaned, closing the gap between their smiling faces. "Cause you're stuck with me."

As the two of them shared a quick kiss, the room erupted in applause and a chorus of "Awwws."

Gustav laughed. "Oh mien gott," he rolled his eyes with a smirk. "I can't take it anymore! WAY too much lovey dovey going on, here!"

"Oh hush, Gusti!" Leah giggled and swatted his arm. "Your time will come, don't you worry."

Bill wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her neck. "That reminds me…Leah, I…"

Her phone suddenly vibrated. Taking it out and looking at the screen, her heart dropped. One missed call from Colden. Crap.

**XXXX**


	18. Chapter 18

"Hey Leah," Colden simply stated as he left her a voicemail message. "I'm guessing you forgot about calling me. Doesn't surprise me. Hope you're having a wonderful time so far, cause I sure as hell wouldn't want to get in the way of _that_."

His face started to get hot as he let his anger get the best of him. "Say hi to everyone for me; but then again, they wouldn't care, would they?" His hands started to ball into fists. "Why are you even wasting your time trying to be my friend when you're not even acting like one? I bet you're not even wearing your ring!"

Glaring down at the band on his finger, Colden's anger erupted. "You know what, forget it. I don't need a little bitch like you in my life. Have a nice trip, Leah. Don't expect me to be there for you when you get back." Angrily he slammed his phone shut and chucked it across the room.

"I COULD JUST _KILL_ SOMEONE!" he screamed as he made his way to his bedroom. Slamming the door shut, he knew he was losing control.

_What did I tell you, Mitchell? She doesn't care about you._

"I wanted things to be different this time! I wanted to be everything to her! It's not fair!"

_She's already moved on, buddy. She obviously ignored your call. She's too busy playing games with her little boyfriend._

"I swear, if I _EVER_ see her again, I'll make sure it's something she _won't_ forget!"

_Why don't you, then? Fly out to Africa. Regain control._

"I can't just…wait. Why couldn't I? I could just fly out and take care of this whole situation…"

_Start packing, buddy._

Colden shot out of his room to retrieve his phone, which wasn't too badly damaged for being thrown across the room.

He quickly punched in the number for the operator. "Hello, operator? Yes, could you please connect me with the Los Angeles Airport? Thank you…"

**XXXX**

Leah listened to Colden's voicemail message for the twenty-second time. She couldn't believe it.

"_Don't expect for me to be there for you when you come back._" His words echoed in her mind; bouncing around like little bombs exploding in her brain.

Slipping the phone back into her pocket, Leah unlocked the bathroom door and stepped out into the bedroom, where Bill sat on the bed, waiting for her. Everyone had gone back to their rooms a couple of hours ago, so it was just the two of them.

Picking up on her uneasiness, Bill furrowed his brow. "There's something wrong, isn't there?"

Silently making her way to the bed, Leah sat down next to him and sighed. "It's, uh…" She knew he wasn't going to like this. "It's Colden."

"Oh?" questioned Bill with a pang of sourness in his voice. "And what exactly does he want now?"

Leah had taken her ring off before going to bed last night, and was glad she had forgotten it back at home. "He's just a little upset, is all."

"Leah," Bill raised his eyebrow. "He's never been 'just a little upset' before. Something's up, and I'd like to know what." He placed his hand on her knee and gave it a little squeeze. "When you're upset, I'm upset, sweetheart."

Glancing up at him, Leah's eyes started to mist. "He's just upset that I forgot to call him when we landed." She gave a half-hearted attempt at a laugh. "He'll get over it."

With growing concern, Bill squinted his eyes and tensed up. "What did he say to you?" When Leah didn't respond, he almost demanded, "Let me see your phone."

"Billa, honey, really. It's nothing to…"

"Let. Me see. Your phone." He looked her straight in the eyes with a look of determination and concern.

Leah slowly pulled out her phone from her pocket and silently handed to Bill. Taking the phone and squeezing her knee once more, he called her voicemail, listening for Colden's message.

**XXXX**

Stevie snuggled close to Tom as they lay in bed, half-asleep. "Tomi?"

"Hmm?"

"I think everyone took the news really well, don't you?"

"Mmmhmm."

Closing her eyes, Stevie smiled in the dark. "I'm so glad we told them."

"Me too, babe."

A few silent seconds passed by. "Tomi?"

"Mmm."

"What do you think our kids will look like?"

Tom peeked open one eye and smirked. "Well, they're obviously going to be the most beautiful children in the world, having us as parents."

Stevie quietly giggled. "I've always liked the name Adeline Rose for a girl and Caden Brendan for a boy. Of course," she snuggled closer. "We have quite a while to think about stuff like that, don't we?"

Tom kissed her forehead and sighed. "Well, no matter when it'll happen," he smiled. "I'm just happy I get to experience it with _you_."

"Wow, Tomi," Stevie smirked. "You've become quite a softy as of late."

He shrugged. "You bring out my softer side."

"I wasn't aware you even HAD a softer side until lately!" she giggled and looked up into his big chocolaty eyes. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"

"You bet," he smiled. "Just wait and see what the guys and I have planned for the next couple of days!"

**XXXX**

All of the blood drained from Bill's face as he listened to the toxic words of Colden's message on the voicemail.

Burying her head in her hands, Leah braced herself for an outburst of unearthly proportions from Bill, but he silently closed her phone, handed it back to her gently, and wrapped his arms around her, not saying anything at all.

Leah closed her eyes and bit her lip, fearing that if she ventured to say something, she'd burst into tears. She waited for Bill to break the silence.

But he just sat there with her; his arms surrounding her body in a loving embrace and continued to be unusually silent.

She took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. "I need a smoke…"

"Oh, no you don't," Bill whispered and tilted her chin up to look her in the eyes. "You're going to stay right here; I want to ask you something."

Raising an eyebrow, Leah asked, "And just what might _that_ be?"

Bill wasn't sure how he was going to approach this. A serious and concerned look came over his face. "Has he _always_ talked to you like that?"

"Um, well, not _always…_" she answered, avoiding eye contact. "I mean, he didn't _used_ to, anyways…"

Bill gently and lovingly grabbed both sides of her face to make her look him in the eyes. "Leah, honey. I don't care what anybody says; he has _no right_ to talk to you like that. EVER."

Tears started to form in her eyes. "Billa, I just don't know what to do!" She crumpled in his arms, and he held her close. "I don't want to lose him, but with the way he's been treating me lately…" She burst into tears.

Bill closed his eyes as he held his weeping angel. "Don't worry, lovey." He kissed her tear-stained cheek and rested his forehead on hers. "I'll take care of him."

**XXXX**


	19. Chapter 19

Uneasiness lingered in the air the whole morning of the video shoot. Everyone knew about Colden's unsavory voicemail message, and chose not to talk about it.

After hours of filming, the guys couldn't focus on the music (they were _so_ worried about Leah) and kept messing up; the director suggested that they break for lunch, and they all gathered in the tent on site and took a much needed rest.

"So," Leah sauntered up to Bill and gave him a quick peck. "How's the shoot going?"

"We've had better," he flatly stated and sighed. "I'm just not feeling it today."

Tom sat down, pulling Stevie onto his lap. "I know what you mean," he interjected with a sigh. "I don't know what it is, but it seems like everyone's …off today."

"You know," Maria smiled with her ever-present sense of light-heartedness. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that what _you_ guys need is to blow off some steam with a little silliness!" She giggled and found herself wrapped in a Georg-sized hug from behind.

"Trust me, baby," he smiled and kissed her neck. "These guys are the freaking definition of silliness!"

"Amen!" Gustav threw in as he walked in from talking with the director outside and headed toward the table of food.

Tom smirked and cocked an eyebrow as he and Stevie both stood up. "Oh. You want silly?" He shot Bill an all-knowing look. "You thinking what I'm thinking, bro?"

Bill caught what he was suggesting and smiled. "Oh. I think I am." He slowly met his brother in the middle of the tent and dramatically faced the others.

"Billa? Tomi?" Stevie smiled and crossed her arms. "You're not going to…"

"DANCE WAR!" the twins excitedly exclaimed.

**XXXX**

Colden sat on his bed with his head in his hands; clothes strewn everywhere as a result of his packing endeavors.

"Maybe I should think this through…"

_There's nothing to think about._

"Is going to Africa really going to stop Leah from loving that…that…guy?"

_You bet it is. It's going to put a stop to it ALL._

"She probably won't even want to _look_ at me after what I said!"

_She'll get over it._

"I practically ended our friendship with what I said. God, I'm such an idiot!"

_No, no, no, no, no. SHE'S the one who keeps ignoring you and blowing you off for that Kaulitz creep. SHE'S the one to blame here._

"But I don't want our friendship to end because I went and lost my temper! Everything would be completely lost!"

_Why do you insist on lying to yourself? She obviously doesn't want to be friends! You're "just Colden" to her! Kaulitz has got her brainwashed! You need to go down there and set things straight!_

"Oh, I'm going down there. But I'm going to make things _right_."

_Don't you even THINK about letting her get away with what she did!_

"I have to make this better!"

_She's only going to hurt you again!_

"I have to know if she hates me for what I said! I have to let her know how sorry I am!"

_She's not going to listen to you!_

"Well, I have to find out!"

Colden quickly stood up and walked out of his bedroom, making his way towards the phone. He grabbed it, sat down on the couch, and dialed her number. Nervously he waited as Leah's phone rang.

**XXXX**

Bill, Tom, Georg, and even Gustav were all laughing and dancing crazily in the middle of the tent as Leah, Stevie and Maria sat back and giggled at the craziness unfolding before them.

"Do they _really_ think they can dance?" Maria stifled a laugh as the guys went back and forth, trying to one up each other.

Stevie shook her head. "I don't even think that could be _classified_ as dancing!"

"That's not even in the same _zip code_ as dancing!" Leah rolled her eyes.

The guys playfully bantered back and forth in German as the dance war waged on, and realizing that they weren't about to understand any of it, the girls headed toward the food table to get some lunch.

As soon as she made her plate and sat down to eat, Leah's phone rang obnoxiously. She rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone, glancing at the caller ID.

Incoming call from "Colden—home."

Leah's blood ran cold. Glancing up to see if the others were watching, she silently made her way outside of the tent unnoticed and answered the call.

"What do you want, Colden?"

"I'm sorry," came his voice from the other end. "I didn't mean a word of what I said to you, really."

"Oh?" scoffed Leah as she rolled her eyes and placed her hand on her hip. "You seemed pretty sure of yourself when you said it!" She couldn't believe he actually had the nerve call her and try to come up with excuses for his erratic behavior. "Why the hell are you even calling me right now?"

Colden sighed into the phone. "I don't want our friendship to end because I lost my temper. I know what I said was uncalled for, and I'm sorry."

Leah didn't say anything. She couldn't. Standing there, outside the tent in disbelief and shock, she could hardly formulate a response to what he had just said. "What do you want me to say? That everything's just fine? That what you said isn't a big deal and that I'll get over it? I don't think I can tell you that, Colden; I don't know if I can just go and forgive you this time. You said you didn't want me in your life anymore. And I'm supposed to just forget about this whole thing? No."

"But, Leah…"

"NO!" She was starting to get very upset, very quickly.

"If you just listen to me for a second…"

"No, YOU listen to ME," Leah stood her ground. "I'm sick and tired of being manipulated and played with emotionally by you. I can't take it anymore!"

"Leah…"

"Listen to me!" she almost screamed. Fearing she'd alert the others, she lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. "I'm done, Colden. Hear me? I'm through with all these games. Either you whip yourself into shape _real_ fast, or get the hell out of my life! I don't need the aggravation!"

A few awkward moments of silence lingered on. "Leah," Colden ventured, nearly in tears. "I hate that it's come to this. I'm _so_ sorry. I just don't know how to make it up to you."

"Don't bother," Leah snapped. ""We'll discus this more tomorrow. I'm done talking to you for now."

Colden sighed. "Alright. I'll talk to you soon."

Leah angrily hung up and shoved her phone into her pocket. Giving herself a moment to calm down, she quickly put on a happy face and stepped back into the tent, almost colliding with Bill, who was laughing and smiling and "dancing" with Georg.

"Leah, where were you?" he smiled and slid up to her, engulfing her in a giant bear hug.

"Oh, I was just talking to my agent." She faked a smile, kissing him on the cheek. "Nothing important."

**XXXX**


	20. Chapter 20

The next couple of days were pretty hectic. The guys were busy with shooting the video and photoshoots, and Leah was preoccupied with press conferences and appearances to help her music career along. Stevie and Maria saw it as an opportunity to get to know each other a little better.

Sitting in Tom and Stevie's room, they laughed and giggled as they discovered funny and interesting things about each other.

"So wait, you mean you ACTUALLY had to share a hotel room with Miley Cyrus?" Stevie stifled a laugh as a look of amusement and disgust crossed her face.

"I know, right?" Maria smiled and rolled her eyes. "We both were in Paris for a fashion show, and she _insisted_ we share a room together!"

Steve flopped down onto the bed. "I'm sorry, but THAT'S just weird…" She smiled and glanced at her friend. "I can't believe you agreed to that!"

Maria gingerly sat down next to her. "I didn't want to be mean! Besides," a mischievous grin spread across her face. "I wanted to see if I could get any dirt on her!"

As the girls' laughter rang through the air, a faint knock sounded on the door before it swung open. "Knock, knock!" smiled Tom as he sauntered into the room, closely followed by Georg. "Anybody here?"

"We're in the bedroom!" both Stevie and Maria responded in unison.

Georg shot a playful look at Tom and laughed. "You see, Tom? You can't keep your woman satisfied long enough, so she had to go and steal my girlfriend away so they could talk about how disappointing you are in the love department."

"For your information," smiled Stevie as she and Maria stepped into the room. "Tomi keeps me QUITE satisfied." She gave Tom a quick kiss. "Don't you, baby?"

Tom smiled and pulled her close, whispering in her ear, "Why don't we find out?"

"Oh lord," Maria giggled and shielded her eyes with Georg's long hair. "Get a room!"

"This _is _our room!" Stevie laughed as Tom softly placed kisses up and down her neck, his arms wrapped around her tiny waist.

Georg took Maria by the hand and smiled. "C'mon, babe. Let's leave those two to their feeding frenzy!"

Maria raised her eyebrows. "Oh yes, let's. Wouldn't want to be caught in the middle of THAT." She flashed a smile in Stevie's direction. "I'll see you in the morning, Stevie!"

As soon as the door closed behind Georg and Maria, Tom swept Stevie off her feet and carried her to the bedroom. Gently placing her on the bed, he kissed her nose and whispered, "I have a surprise for you…"

**XXXX**

Stepping off the plane and onto the runway, Colden breathed in the warm African air deeply.

_This is it, Mitchell._

As soon as he got to his hotel room late that night, He whipped out his phone and dialed Leah's number.

_Come on…come on, pick up!_

"Hello?" answered a sleepy voice on the other end.

"Hey, Leah," Colden smiled gently. "I'm sorry I'm calling so late, but I just _had_ to tell you something."

"Well, what is it?" He heard her yawn sleepily.

Colden took a deep breath. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell her, or how she was going to react. Would she be happy that he came all this way just to see her? Or would she be upset that he didn't tell her he was coming? Maybe he should have waited until the morning to call her…

"Guess where I am?"

**XXXX**

"Oh, Tomi! Champagne? Really?"

Stevie beamed as Tom handed her a glass with a devilish smile.

"To officially celebrate our engagement," he kissed her and sat down on the bed, pulling her onto his lap.

Stevie smiled. "We never did get around to doing that, did we?" She giggled as a bright shade of red flushed her cheeks. "Well, we _did_ sorta celebrate that night, but…"

"Hey," smirked Tom. "I'm not complaining." He pulled her into a kiss and then raised his glass to hers. "Hmm. A toast to…"

"To us," Stevie smiled. "To finally finding real love."

Their glasses clinked and the rest of the champagne was gone before they knew it.

**XXXX**

"You're here?" Leah shrieked with shock and nearly stumbled out of bed. Bill stirred next to her, so she lowered her voice. "What to you mean you're here?"

"I mean," Colden's voice whispered through the phone. "I flew in this evening! I came to see you!"

Leah's eyes grew wide. "And you didn't tell me this before?"

"I wanted to surprise you," he smiled. "I guess it's my way of showing you that I'm sorry for what happened and that I'm committed to making this friendship work."

Leah couldn't believe it. Colden flew all the way from LA to see _her_? She was somewhat impressed. "Wow, Colden. I didn't think you actually cared that much." She smiled. "I guess you really are sorry."

"I told you," he replied. "I don't want our friendship to end over something silly."

Leah sighed. "I know. Neither do I. Are you coming over tomorrow?"

"Yep. I can't wait to see you."

"You, too." She smiled to her herself and shifted the phone to her other ear. "Listen, Colden, why don't we talk later. It's…" She glanced at the clock radio on the nightstand. "…two in the morning."

"Alright. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." As she silently hung up the phone and snuggled up to Bill, Leah smiled to herself. Maybe this friendship thing was going to work after all.

**XXXX**

"You know, Tomi," Stevie sighed with a smile as she lay next to Tom. "I think that was the best we've ever had."

His left arm gently wrapped under her petite body, he smiled and kissed her forehead. "Of course it was. I'm amazing."

Softly laughing, Stevie smiled. "Oh, I know you are." She let her eyes wander to his rock solid body; taking in the sense of satisfaction that it was all _hers_.

"I know, I know. I'm a god," Tom smirked as he caught her gazing at him. "Try not to stare for too long…you might explode."

"I can't help it!" she giggled and snuggled closer. "You're just so perfect!"

He smiled and gently placed a kiss on her lips. "Well, I wouldn't say 'perfect,' but pretty damn close."

Stevie sighed and closed her eyes, her head resting on his rising and falling bare chest. "We better get some sleep. The girls and I have something pretty awesome planned for you guys tomorrow."

"Oh, do you?" Tom raised an eyebrow. "This could get interesting."

**XXXX**


	21. Chapter 21

Bill's eyes fluttered open in the dreary morning light. Taking a deep breath in and slowly letting it out, he smiled when he noticed Leah snuggled up to him, sleeping. Gently stroking her cheek with the back of his hand, he thought to himself, _"These are the kind of days I love the most."_ He loved when he got to spend quiet little moments with Leah; no makeup, no cameras, no other people. Just the two of them.

Peacefully she slept beside him; unknowingly being adored by Bill. Her sweet breath tickled his face as she breathed in and out, deep in sleep.

Bill gazed at her for a few quiet minutes. He loved the way her hair fell around her face while she slept; unkempt and disheveled. He loved that he could be himself around her, while he put on a mask of perfection with everyone else. And he loved the fact that Leah felt the exact same way as he did.

Gingerly placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, Bill snuggled closer to her. He decided to let her sleep in; the last couple of days had been so stressful for the two of them, what with all the commotion of all the press conferences and photoshoots and public appearances and video shoots they had going on. They could use a day of rest.

Closing his eyes, Bill sighed in contentment. With his angel blissfully sleeping in his arms, he smiled as he thought, _"Life just doesn't get much better than this."_

He let his thoughts wander until he slowly let himself start to fall back asleep.

The gentle rain pattered on the roof in the early morning fog; lulling him further and further into dreamland. Giving Leah one last peck on the cheek, Bill drifted to sleep, a smile permanently spread across his face.

**XXXX**

Colden paced back and forth in his hotel room. He woke up with a bad feeling that morning, and the dreary weather was NOT making it better. He glanced at the clock on the wall for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Don't worry; she said that she'd talk to you in the morning."

_It's already 10 o'clock_.

"Maybe she just slept in."

_Maybe she's just ignoring you._

"But she said she would call."

_She obviously said that to get you to leave her alone._

"She told me she still wanted to be friends!"

_Things will never be the same between you two. You know that. She knows that. Even Kaulitz knows that, and he's trying to keep it that way!_

"No! She said she would call, so she will!"

_She's going to blow you off again._

"She'll call. And besides, even if she _doesn't_, I'll still see her later today."

_She doesn't want to see you! The whole reason she even came here was to get away from you!_

"No, no, no! She wasn't trying to get away from me! She had business to take care of."

_That was obviously a cover up. There's no way she'd be here for as long as she has been JUST to attend to business. She needed a vacation from you. She cares more about that Kaulitz creep that she ever did about you._

"That's not true…"

_Of course it is. Why do you think she didn't ask YOU to come, but Stevie and that other fag tagged right along? She's obviously avoiding you._

"She would never do that to me…"

_She has been doing it for the past year and a half now, buddy._

**XXXX**

The four guys stood in the rain with their jaws practically on the ground as the girls giggled in delight.

"We're going to race quads?" Gustav enthusiastically exclaimed.

"In the rain?" Georg burst with excitement.

The three girls smiled at each other. "Well," started Stevie. "We know you guys haven't ridden in forever…"

"So we figured, why not?" Maria finished with a smile.

Bill and Tom shot each other mischievous looks and shouted "Race ya!"

They bolted towards the quads and hopped on, shortly followed by the G's. Soon they were off and zooming past the girls; laughing and hollering in delight.

Leah smiled at Stevie and Maria. "Told you they'd love it!"

"I just hope they don't die!" giggled Stevie. "It's pretty slick out there!"

**XXXX**

"That's it, I'm going over there."

Colden grabbed the keys to his rental car and took off towards the parking lot of the hotel.

"I can't believe she hasn't called yet!"

_Told you she's ignoring you._

"She is NOT! She probably just…forgot or something!"

_Not likely. She just can't be bothered by the likes of you, anymore._

Colden reached his rental car and climbed in, starting the ignition. "She can't just ignore me for the rest of her life! I have to make her listen to me."

_Go and tell her whose boss!_

"Better yet; I'll _show_ her whose boss."

**XXXX**

After a few hours of quad racing, the guys decided to take a break. It had stopped raining, and it was already past lunchtime.

Hopping off his quad, Tom raced up to Stevie, sweeping her off her feet, the two of them laughing like little kids.

"Stevie, you're the best!" he smiled and set her down gently. "This was exactly what we needed to blow off some steam."

"Don't look at me!" giggled Stevie and gave him a quick kiss. "This was all Leah's idea!"

Bill tickled Leah's ribs and stealthily avoided her swing at his head. "So _you're _the mastermind behind all of this, huh?" He grabbed her waist from behind and swung her around, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Well, I can't take ALL the credit!" smiled Leah as she turned around and wrapped her arms around Bill's neck. "The girls and I all brainstormed together. It was a team effort, really." She flashed a smile at Maria, who was shrieking and hiding behind Gustav as Georg playfully attempted to splash her with an extremely large mud puddle. "Georgie, what are you doing?" Leah laughed.

"I don't know," Gustav interjected. "But I have a feeling that somebody's about to get covered in…"

A wave of muddy water suddenly splashed all over him, covering him from head to toe. "…mud."

Tom's eyes grew wide with amusement. "Oh…..you've done it now, Georgie!" A devilish grin spread across his face.

Smirking, Georg rolled his eyes. "He doesn't have the guts to…"

He was suddenly tackled by a hysterically laughing Gustav; the two of them playfully wrestling in the mud.

**XXXX**

Mumbling to himself, Colden's temper rose as he neared the racing site where Leah had told him (before she left for the trip) she and the gang would be.

"She probably forgot I was even coming!"

_She's too busy having fun without you._

"It's past one o'clock, and she hasn't so much as even called me yet! What's the matter with her?"

_She's deliberately trying to keep you out of her life. She doesn't want you in it._

"She promised me she'd talk to me today!"

_Surprise, surprise. Another promise broken._

He pulled up to the site and parked the car. Scanning the track, he spotted the gang goofing off and rolling around in the mud; completely oblivious to the fact that he was even there.

**XXXX**

By that time, everyone had been pulled into the mud-slinging war, and they were all covered from head to toe in the stuff.

Lying on the ground next to Tom, Bill laughed, "Hey guys! Doesn't this remind you of that photoshoot we had a couple of years ago? The one with the mud?"

"Yeah, it does!" replied Georg, who was a few feet away, making mud-angels with Maria, Stevie and Leah.

Gustav sat up and attempted to wipe some of the mud from his face and smirked. "Except THIS time, we had a lot more fun!" A chorus of laughter rang in the air as Gustav glanced down the track and spotted a man leaning against a car. Straining his eyes to see the man's face, he recognized him. "Colden? Is that Colden?"

Everyone bolted upright and snapped their heads in the direction of the car.

"Oh crap," Leah whispered as she scooted closer to Bill. "I forgot about Colden."

**XXXX**


	22. Chapter 22

"Leah, stay near me," Bill quickly stated as he helped her to her feet. "I won't let him touch you."

_Schiesse,_ thought Leah to herself, hiding behind Bill. _I forgot about Colden_.

"What's HE doing here?" Tom scoffed in disgust and placed himself at her side. "I thought he made it abundantly clear that he wasn't going to be in your life anymore."

Georg and Gustav cautiously stood up and headed towards Leah, closing the gaps around her. "Seems to me like someone just can't learn to let go," Georg scowled in Colden's direction.

Clenching his fists, Gustav added, "Maybe that someone needs to be reminded how to mind their own business and stay out of our lives."

"Guys, please," Stevie pleaded with her eyes. "Don't do anything rash. You know how he is. And just remember," she shot a look at Tom. "He's still my big brother."

The ensuing silence chilled Leah to the bone. Glancing first at Maria, who had a deep look of concern at her face, and then in Colden's direction, where he stood leaning against his car, she quieted the overwhelming urge to scream.

_Oh, why did he have to come here?_ she thought miserably as images of what was about to happen formed themselves in her uneasy mind.

Bill tensed up and wrapped his arm around Leah's waist. "Can I help you?"

**XXXX**

A smile crept onto Colden's face as he observed the uneasiness he was creating.

"Look at them. They don't know what to do."

_You were the LAST person they expected to see._

"I'll bet Leah's scared out of her damn mind right now."

_Funny how she thinks that hiding behind that freaking stick of a human being will protect her…_

"I wonder if they know what I'm _really_ here for…"

_They probably don't suspect a thing._

"I just gotta play it cool. If I lose control now, all is lost."

_Make them believe that there's nothing to worry about. Everything is just fine, as far as they know…_

Colden smirked at the thought. He watched the others form a force field around Leah, amused by their attempt to shield her from him.

He narrowed his eyes and let out a deep, slow breath. The way that Kaulitz was eyeing him up shot a pang of hatred through his heart. Crossing his arms and cocking an eyebrow, he chuckled to himself at the thought of Kaulitz trying to take him on. He watched as the others banded together around Leah and couldn't help but be amused.

"Can I help you?" he heard Kaulitz call out.

Taking a few slow steps in their direction, Colden smirked, "Actually, yes. I'd like to have a little chat with Leah."

**XXXX**

Bill tightened his grip around Leah's waist at the mention of her name. A look of hatred and disgust crossed his face as he watched Colden slither in their direction with an air of cockiness surrounding him.

"Who says you can talk to Leah?" Tom scoffed and started to angrily make his way toward Colden. "Last time I checked, you weren't so sure you _ever_ wanted to talk to her again."

"Yeah," Gustav ventured, standing his ground. "I believe your exact choice of words were 'I don't need a little bitch like you in my life,' am I correct?"

Colden stopped in his tracks. Looking at Leah in a look of mock confusion, he asked, "You didn't tell them about our last conversation?"

All eyes turned to Leah. Blushing, she tried to avoid eye contact with everyone, especially Bill. "Um, I guess I didn't. It must have slipped my mind."

"Oh, really?" Bill questioned and let go of her waist, crossing his arms. "The thought never occurred to you to tell us that…HE was coming?" He shot daggers in Colden's direction. "He wasn't even invited…" he whispered under his breath.

"Who said that he was even welcome here?" Georg scowled and rolled his eyes.

Stevie broke from the group to get a grip on Tom, who was just about ready to tear her brother apart. "What exactly are you doing here, anyways, Colden?"

Silently, Colden stood his ground, glancing from person to person; his gaze finally resting on Leah. "I came to apologize."

"Oh, save it," retorted Bill. "Can't you see you're not wanted here?" His eyes shifted to Leah, whose face had grown quite pale. Gently he asked her, "Why didn't you tell us he was coming?"

Leah hesitated to answer; having difficulty finding the right words. "I…I just…I didn't want to cause any more drama."

Composing himself and joining back with the others, Tom stated, "Well, it's a little late for that."

"Leah," Bill hastily grabbed a hold of her hand. "I need to talk to you. Alone."

**XXXX**

Colden smiled to himself.

_Things are going perfectly_.

As he watched Bill and Leah walk a safe distance away from the others, he could only imagine what they were going to discuss. He was 99% sure it had to do with Bill's obvious jealousy of him.

He could tell that the others were eyeing him up.

_Let them look._

His gaze shifted from the group back to Leah and Bill, and masked his face with a look of concern, uneasily crossing his arms. "I sure hope I haven't done anything to mess things up THIS time…"

**XXXX**

Once they were a safe distance away from the others, Bill let go of Leah's hand and faced her; bursting with aggravation and frustration. "What the hell is HE doing here? You weren't going to tell me about him?"

"I'm sorry!" Leah's eyes welled up with tears. "I just…I don't know, I…"

"Leah! Why would you keep something like that from me? From the rest of the guys? From your best friends? I thought you were _done_ with that…that…"

"I know, I know," whimpered Leah as a single tear slipped from her eye. "I just didn't know how I was going to tell you! You're not exactly his biggest fan!"

"Damn right, I'm not!" Bill exploded. "That scum bag has hurt you time and time again, and you just keep running back for more!" He looked her straight in the eyes. "Leah, I don't know what else to do!"

Leah wrapped her arms around herself, desperate to come up with a solution to this never ending problem. "Well, I don't either…"

An uncomfortable moment of silence passed between them. Closing his eyes, Bill let out a deep sigh. Slowly, he looked up at Leah.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's either him or me."

A flood of dread and sorrow crashed through Leah's heart. She knew this moment had to come up eventually. She just didn't think she'd have to deal with it so soon. She couldn't speak.

"You know what," Bill's voice quaked with emotion. "If you can't honestly say that you're willing to fight for our relationship, then maybe we shouldn't have a relationship at all."

Leah's heart stopped.

**XXXX**


	23. Chapter 23

Silently, Colden looked on as Bill and Leah worked out their problems. He wasn't sure how things were going, but he had a feeling that the outcome would swing in his direction. He hardly noticed the others band together, whispering to each other. Every so often he would glance in their direction, and each time he'd catch Tom's eye. If looks could kill…

Quickly he averted his eyes from Tom's death stare, focusing once again on Bill and Leah. An all knowing smile spread across his face as he saw Leah hastily make her way towards him, clearly upset.

"Everything okay?" he asked, containing his anticipation.

As Leah reached him, she grabbed his hand, pulling him in the direction of his rental car. "We have to go, Colden. Now."

A chorus of objections and questions sprang up from the group.

"What?"

"You can't be serious."

"You're leaving? With HIM?"

"Please tell me this is some kind of bad dream…"

Briefly turning to face everyone with teary eyes and a broken heart, Leah managed, "I…I'm sorry, guys. But until we get this matter settled, I'm going back to LA with Colden."

**XXXX**

Bill watched as Leah and Colden rode off, tears spilling from his eyes. He knew it was for her own good that he had to let her go; she had to realize what a monster that guys was on her own.

Gathering his composure, he quickly made his way back to the others. He wasn't sure he could get through this by himself.

"Bill," Tom whispered, fighting back his emotions. "Why the hell did you let her go?" This was not like Bill at all. Tom could sense that his brother was hiding something from him, and he intended to find out what it was, whether Bill wanted him to know or not.

Sitting on the ground, Bill lowered his head into his hands, emotionally and mentally spent. "That was by _far_ the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my entire life," he tearfully whimpered; heartbroken.

"But why did you do it?" Stevie burst into tears and sank to her knees beside Bill, taking his hand in hers. "Why didn't you stop her?"

"Why didn't any of us stop her?" muttered Gustav, gazing in the direction that Leah and Colden had driven away.

Maria desperately looked from one person to another. "There's got to be something we can do!" She shot Georg a pleading look. "Anything!"

Georg sighed looked at Bill. Taking Maria by the hand, he made his way over to his friend. "Bill?"

Taking a deep breath, Bill managed, "She just has to learn the hard way, I guess. I'd give _anything_ to let her know that this isn't how I want things to be."

**XXXX**

Leaning back in her seat on the plane later that night, Leah couldn't help but feel like she was making the biggest mistake of her life. To her right, Colden sat gently caressing her hand with is thumb; all smiles.

As they flew back home all that night and into the next morning, she couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness and depression that plagued her mind. Thoughts of Bill nagged at her, robbing her of sleep the whole way home.

Once back in LA, Colden and Leah stopped by the condo to grab some essential things Leah would need to tie her over until she settled everything with Bill.

Bill.

A flood of fresh sorrow washed over Leah as she rifled through hers and Bill's room, gathering things to head over to Colden's place with him. She just needed to get in, get out, and leave this place behind as quickly as possible.

**XXXX**

_Finally!_ Colden thought to himself as he and Leah stepped into his apartment. _Now things should start to get interesting…_

"Just drop your stuff anywhere," he smiled as he threw his jacket on the couch. "Make yourself at home."

Setting down her duffle bag and gingerly sitting on the couch, Leah sighed and looked around.

Simple furniture, pale blue walls, a painting here and there; Colden had a nice place. Her eyes wondered in the direction of the kitchen, where Colden rounded the corner and made his way over to her, taking a seat on the couch beside her.

The two of them didn't quite know what to say to each other. Awkwardly, Colden stood up, quietly saying, "I'll be right back…" He headed to his room and shut the door.

_Calm yourself, Mitchell._

"She's finally here. Time to unleash the beast."

Looking himself in the mirror for a few moments, building the strength to go back out there and take control, he took several deep breaths, and then slowly opened his door and sauntered back over to Leah, sitting down beside her once more.

"You okay?" he asked with 'concern' in his voice.

She sighed. "Not really. I can't stop thinking about Bill."

Colden's expression dropped at the sound of Bill's name.

"He'll never forgive me," she frowned as her bottom lip began to quiver.

"Forgive you? For what?" Colden bursted angrily, quickly standing up and facing her.

Leah flinched at his sudden outburst. "I, uh, I chose our friendship over him, Colden."

"Friendship?" He couldn't take it anymore. He smacked her across the face, hard. "Is that all I am to you? A 'friend?'" he nearly screamed.

Leah sat in sheer terror, placing her hand on her stinging cheek, realizing the terrible mistake she had made in coming here. She recognized the look of malice in Colden's icy, unforgiving eyes and knew that she was about to relive her worst nightmare.

**XXXX**


	24. Chapter 24

Both anger and alarm sprung up in Leah's chest as she quickly stood up, trying to get away from Colden. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He grabbed her by the neck and slammed her up against the wall, knocking down a painting in the process. "Something I should have finished a long time ago!"

Clawing at his hands tightly wrapped around her neck, Leah desperately tried to think of a way out of this nightmare. Before she could even utter a syllable, Colden threw her onto the couch, screaming, "You should have loved me when you had the chance, Leah! Now you'll suffer just like I did!"

**XXXX**

The sheer terror in Leah's eyes thrilled Colden's inner being, fueling his rage. "It's too late, Leah! No one can save you now."

Repeatedly he pounded her face; her screams egging him on.

_Scream, bitch! Scream!_

"Get out of my head!" Colden threw Leah off of the couch onto the floor. "I don't need you anymore!"

_Beat the living daylights out of her! She's the reason you are the way you are!_

He dragged Leah into his bedroom, fighting off her flailing arms and legs. "You ruined everything!"

_If she had just loved you, then you would be completely normal! She caused all of this!_

"You worthless little slut!" He backhanded her across the face and threw her onto the bed.

"Let me go, Colden!" Leah screamed through her tears. "Just let me go!"

"Shut up! You brought this on yourself!" he exploded and kicked her in the stomach as she fought to get out from under him.

_Don't let her get away! She's finally getting what she deserves! Make her pay for all those months of pain and suffering! This is what you've been waiting for, Mitchell!_

Leah managed to fight her way off the bed and sprinted to the doorway.

"Get back here!" Colden screamed as he ran after her. "I'm not done with you!"

"Like hell you're not!" Leah made a mad dash for the front door. She flung it open, running toward the outside stairwell leading to the parking lot. Just as she reached the head of the stairs, she felt a shove from behind, sending her tumbling down the steps at an alarming rate.

Bruised and bleeding, Leah lay crumpled at the bottom of the stairwell, too hurt to move and too weak to care.

Lording over her on the top step, Colden stood with an air of accomplishment. "And don't even _think_ about going to the police, or Kaulitz, or ANYBODY about this, understand? Cause if you do," he smirked as he turned back in the direction of his apartment. "I _will_ kill you. Or better yet, I'll kill Kaulitz."

Leaving her wounded and helpless, Colden stalked back to his apartment, not caring if she lived or died.

Tears stung Leah's eyes as her world started to fade to black.

She couldn't feel her left leg. In one last ditch effort to save herself, she painfully pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed 911.

"Help…me…"

**XXXX**

"Oh my God, oh my God! She's waking up!"

Leah's eyes slowly fluttered open.

_Where am I?_

As she took in the sights and sounds of the hospital room surrounding her, the realization of what had happened hit her like a ton of bricks. Closing her eyes again, she swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

"Leah? Leah, honey?

_Stevie?_

Leah opened her eyes to see Stevie and Tom sitting by her side, their faces covered in looks of astonishment.

"Stevie? Tomi?"

"Oh, thank God!" Tom took Leah's bruised hand as tears of joy streaked down his face. "Leah, you really scared us!"

"What happened?" she managed as she tried to sit up in bed, her head pounding a million miles an hour.

Stevie gingerly stopped her, fighting back tears. "Leah, honey. You, uh, you had a little confrontation with Colden." Her voice quaked with emotion; torn between the love for her best friend and the love for her big brother. It was clear to her which one she'd pick this time. "You called 911, and they brought you here. They searched the contacts on your phone, and called me; Tom and I flew here as quickly as we could." A tear streaked down her face.

Leah's eyes widened with disbelief. In a quiet voice, she murmured, "You mean you still came, even after I ditched you guys?"

"You know it, babe," Tom smiled and gently squeezed her hand. "We'll always be here for you; no matter what, in the good times and the bad times, come hell or high water."

Tears sprung into Leah's eyes. "I can't believe you guys still love me after…"

"How can you say that, sweetie?" Stevie looked into her best friend's eyes. "We never stopped loving you!"

Leah grew quiet. Biting her lip, she closed her eyes and mustered up the strength to ask the most difficult question she'd ever asked in her life.

"What about Bill?"

**XXXX**


	25. Chapter 25

_Just keep running, Mitchell._

With nothing but a duffle bag full of supplies and a cell phone, Colden had hit the streets before the ambulance even arrived. That was three days ago. Now, he was on the run. There was no telling what kind of stunt Leah would pull after _that_ encounter; the media would eat it up.

"There's nowhere for me to go."

_You'll think of something. You always do. Just lay low and stay out of the public eye until this whole thing blows over._

"The police are bound to get involved."

_So let them get involved. They'll never find you._

"Cause that just worked out _so_ well the LAST time…"

With a sigh of frustration, Colden sank to the ground in the alleyway he had taken shelter in for the night.

_It's not like she'd pull anything. She knows what will happen if she does._

Colden smiled. He had forgotten that Leah had spilled about all the details of her schedule on the flight back to LA. He virtually knew what her life was going to be like for the next month and a half. Now, it was all a matter of timing, planning, and investigation.

"Oh, Leah. If you only knew what was coming…"

**XXXX**

"What do you mean Bill's not coming back?" Leah's voice erupted with sorrow as she tried to comprehend what she had just been told.

Stevie sighed and squeezed her hand. "He decided that it would be best for you if he flew back to Magdeburg with Gustav, Georg, and Maria for a while. He didn't want you to deal with seeing him after what you've gone through already. It would be too hard."

Tears rolled down Leah's cheeks as a fresh wave of pain bursted from her heart. "I can't believe he's just leaving me like this! I thought he loved me!"

"He does!" Tom reassured her. "Believe me; he loves you more than he'd loved _anybody_ before. Well, besides me, of course…" he smirked and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Its murder to be away from each other like this, I know. But, if it helps you in your recovery, then we'll all get through it somehow. We love you, Leah."

Leah took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I just don't see why it has to be like this. I never even got to say goodbye to him. And after he told me we should end our…" Emotion choked out her words.

"Oh Leah, honey," Stevie leaned in and gingerly embraced her friend. "I know how much this sucks. Believe me, I do. Once you feel better, we'll go back home and do lots of stuff to take your mind off of this whole thing, I promise."

Leah smiled tearfully and glanced back and forth between her two best friends. "I really don't know what I'd do without you guys."

**XXXX**

About a week passed before Leah had healed from her worst injuries. Eager to go home, she, Stevie, and Tom gathered her things and headed out, arriving at the condo before noon.

Stepping through the doorway, Leah set down her bag and sighed. "Well. Here we are."

"Oh, come on, Leah," Tom hugged her playfully from behind. "Cheer up. I don't like seeing my best friend like this."

"Neither do I," agreed Stevie, making her way to the kitchen. "I know what will cheer you up!"

"Oh, _please_ let it be sandwiches…" laughed Tom as he and Leah flopped onto the couch in the living room.

Stevie's voice echoed into the room from the kitchen. "Not just any sandwiches!"

Leah smiled. "Fluffernutters?"

"You got it, babe!" laughed Stevie.

"Make it quick!" smirked Tom. "Leah and I are starving!"

**XXXX**

"Wait, wait." Georg sat facing Bill in his and Gustav's place back in Magdeburg. "So you still love her, but you can't be with her?"

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Maria retorted as she brought the guys drinks from the kitchen. "Why can't you just be with her?"

"Because," Bill started, gratefully taking his drink from her. "It wouldn't be good for either of us. Even though I want to go over there and tear that monster limb from limb for hurting her again, it's the last thing she needs right now."

Gustav shook his head, taking a seat next to Georg. "I just don't understand you. She needs you more than ever right now. I think you're just still secretly upset that she chose Colden that day. And before you completely freak out," he explained as a look of objection crossed Bill's face. "I think she still loves you. I _know_ she still loves you. Why don't you just be with her?"

Bill sighed, set down his glass on the coffee table, and buried his head in his hands. "I have to give her time to heal. I love her too much to watch her crash and burn out."

**XXXX**

Sitting alone on what used to be hers and Bill's balcony, Leah gazed up at the moon, tears staining her face. It was two in the morning; Stevie and Tom had gone to bed hours ago, only after making sure Leah was safe and sound in her own bed. She woke up from the same nightmares that had plagued her from what seemed like forever ago, but this time, Bill wasn't there to comfort her.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Leah felt more alone than she ever had before. Whoever said 'it was better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all' was full of it. Reaching into the pocket of her robe, the familiar touch of her cold hearted razor met her fingers, and she pulled it out with a sick sense of nostalgia. Ripping into her arm, reopening old scars and slashing places for new ones to form, Leah smiled to herself, fresh tears streaming down her face. "Hello, old friend."

**XXXX**


	26. Chapter 26

Bill sat hunched over his workspace, feverishly scribbling down the words filling his mind.

"Zoom into me…zoom into me…when the world cuts your soul into pieces and you start to bleed…when you can't breathe, I will be there…zoom into me…"

"Whatcha doin?" Georg poked his head in the doorframe with a smile and startled Bill.

"What?" Bill nearly jumped out of his seat. "Oh, Georg, don't scare me like that…"

Chuckling to himself, Georg crossed into Bill's guest room and sat next to him. "Sorry. I just heard you talking to yourself again, so I thought I'd…"

"I was NOT talking to myself!" objected Bill as he gave his friend a slight shove. "And even if I _was,_ so what? YOU'RE the one who has to brush his hair _exactly_ seventy-two times every morning." He rolled his eyes. "Even _I'm_ not that crazy about my hair! That's why I got it dreaded!"

"Oh, mmhmm. Sure." Georg cracked a smile. "Whatever you say, former palm tree." He quickly dodged a smack and laughed. "So what are you _really_ doing?"

Bill smiled and picked up the paper he had been scribbling on. "Do you thing Jost would let us squeeze in one more song on the album? Or is it too late?"

Georg cocked an eyebrow. "Anything's possible!"

**XXXX**

Quickly pulling on a long sleeved t-shirt and jeans, Leah contemplated how, or even IF she was ever going to tell Stevie and Tom about the cutting. They lived with her, for goodness sake; they were bound to find out sooner or later. She didn't want them to find out the way Bill had, but maybe if she didn't say anything and was really careful, they wouldn't find out. Her step-father never found out. Her mother never found out.

Mother.

A flood of memories swept through Leah's mind; there was the time she had fallen out of her tree house and mother had given her hugs and kisses until she felt better, the Fourth of July picnics they went on every year, mother's body in a pool of blood next to Jim's .45 caliber…

Leah had to stop herself before she completely broke down. Now was neither the time nor the place to be revisiting those memories. She'd deal with them later.

After splashing cold water on her face in the bathroom (yet another horribly memorable place), Leah walked into the living room to find Stevie and Tom on the couch, watching TV.

_"…and up next, singers Leah McAllister and Bill Kaulitz are splittsville? Plus, Colden Mitchell, Leah's former friend turned attacker is on the run from the police. What are the authorities doing to make sure he'll be caught and locked up for good? Find out, coming up on…"_

"Turn that trash off, please," Leah whispered as a single tear escaped from her eye.

Tom quickly turned off the TV and shot her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Leah. People need to learn to mind their own damn business." He got up and made his way over to her, engulfing her in a huge Tomi-bear-hug. "It's hard enough going through this by yourself, let alone when everyone and their freaking mother are hanging onto every last detail." Giving her a friendly kiss on the forehead, he gave her a little squeeze. "We love you, Leah."

"And don't you forget it!" Stevie chimed in and went over to join in their hug fest.

"Thanks, guys," smiled Leah. "I know I've told you this a million times before, but I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well," smirked Tom, pulling away and giving her a mischievous look. "Obviously you'd be a wreck."

Leah rolled her eyes and laughed, making sure to pull her sleeves down over the palms of her hands. "Only obviously."

**XXXX**

Georg sat in silence at the foot of the bed as Bill belted out with as much emotion as he could muster the song he had just written for Leah. He'd never seen Bill so emotionally invested in a song before. The pain in his voice made every word pierce Georg's very soul; it was so raw, so genuine. He let the words sink in as Bill's last note slowly faded.

"So, what to you think, G?"

Georg looked into his friend's eyes. "You really care about this girl, don't you?"

Bill bit his lip and turned his eyes from Georg's. "I love her more than my own life. I'd do anything for her. It kills me knowing how much she's going through." With a sigh, he plopped back down onto the bed beside his friend. "I just need to give her time. But I want her to know that I'll always be here for her."

Georg nodded. "I think this song is exactly what she needs to hear. And Jost should definitely consider letting us squeeze it in on the album. It's great, Bill."

"Thanks, man." Bill gave Georg a weak smile and stood up. "But before we even talk to him about it, I want to sing it to Leah. It _is_ about her, after all."

"Good idea," agreed Georg as he stood to leave. "Just let me know when you're ready to run with it."

"Kay." As the door shut, Bill slunk over to the window and shut the blinds. With a heavy sigh, he glanced at the paper on the bed with the lyrics he had just pounded out; _Zoom Into Me._ It wasn't easy for him to let out all of his anger, and frustration, and hurt, and love, and sympathy, and sorrow in a constructive manor as of late. By writing this song, he hoped that he would finally get Leah to see how much she meant to him; how much he loved her. He slowly lay down and buried his face in his pillow.

"Just open your jaded eyes, love. I'll always be right here, loving you. We'll be together soon."

**XXXX**


	27. Chapter 27

"I'll see you girls later," Tom called as he walked out the door. "I'm going to my photoshoot now!"

Stevie and Leah looked up from the photo albums they were looking at. "Alright babe, see you later!" smiled Stevie.

As the door closed behind Tom, the girls went right back to giggling away at the photos.

"Can you believe my hair in this one?" Stevie gasped while pointing out her seventh grade school picture. "I look horrible!"

"Oh, sissy, no you don't!" Leah and Stevie often referred to each other as sisters; they had grown so close over the past couple of years. "You always look super duper cute!"

Stevie smiled. "Thanks, sissy." She glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. "Schiesse! I'm late!"

A look of confusion, then realization crossed Leah's face. "Oh yeah, I forgot you had a doctor's appointment today." She sighed and closed the photo album. "How long do you think you're going to be?"

"Oh, I don't know. I shouldn't be more than a couple of hours or so," Stevie replied as she slipped into her coat and grabbed her handbag. Looking out the window, she thought better of the coat; it was the end of March and things were finally starting to warm up quite nicely outside. "I'll be back a little bit later than Tomi," she smiled and headed toward the door. "You sure you're alright by yourself?"

"I'll be just fine," Leah lied with smiling eyes. "Just fine."

**XXXX**

"Alright, why don't we take a break for a while?" It was an hour and a half into the photoshoot, and the photographer, Tokio Hotel's long time friend, James Ronaldi, could tell that Tom was getting distracted. "Is there anything on your mind?"

Tom sighed and made his way over to James, shoving his hands into his oversized pockets. "I don't know, man. Ever since a few days ago, Stevie's not been feeling too well."

"Oh, that's right!" James' eyes lit up. "You asked her to marry you, didn't you? What did she say?"

"She said yes," an enormous smile broke onto Tom's face. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. It's just…" His face dropped and he shuffled his feet.

James furrowed his brow in confusion. "What? Is there something wrong?"  
"I don't know yet," Tom said with a sigh. "She's been getting sick a _lot_ lately. I'm scared she might have something serious." Looking back up at his friend, he lowered his voice. "I don't want to lose her. It's just kind of scary, you know?"

"Don't worry, man," James placed his hand on Tom's shoulder. "I'm sure everything will be okay." He had seen his friend transform from German playboy to an actually decent guy over the past year or so, and he hated seeing him like this.

Tom gave him a half a smile. "Thanks. I guess I'll find out for sure when I get home." Glancing around the room, he took his hands out of his pockets and rubbed them together with a smile. "Alright. How about we finish up this photoshoot so I can actually GET home?"

**XXXX**

"B…I…L…L…" Leah sat alone on her balcony in the warm evening air, carving Bill's name into her arm with her razor. "Oh God, I miss you so much…" Tears splashed onto the surface of the floor, as well as her arm, mixing with the blood. She had gone a little too deep while doing the last "L," and as her arm gushed blood, she just stared at the liquid flowing onto the floor with a dull, glazed expression; totally numb.

Leaning back against the closed door, Leah took a deep breath and tried to blink away the tears stinging her eyes. She knew Tom or Stevie would be back soon enough, but she just didn't care if they found out anymore. Glancing at her bloody arm, she bit her lip and tried to imagine what Bill would say if he could see her right now.

Bill. Thoughts and images and memories of him filled Leah's mind, pounding her relentlessly with feelings of sorrow and depression once again. She couldn't believe he was actually gone. And it was all her fault. All _Colden's_ fault. The thought of Colden sickened Leah to her core.

Picking her razor back up, she flexed her wrist and closed her eyes. Hopefully, with one quick, violent jerk, she'd have the strength to keep going down until she reached her veins, shredding them and letting herself bleed to death. If Tom didn't come home in ten minutes, she'd go through with it. Secretly, she hoped to God that she didn't have to.

**XXXX**

Tom pulled into his usual parking space for his Cadillac Escalade and then made his way up to the condo. After unlocking the door, he slowly pushed it open, stepping inside. "Hallo? Stevie? Leah?" No reply. "Hmm." Throwing his keys on the counter, he ventured further inside. "Anybody home?"

"_That's odd",_ he thought to himself. "_Maybe Leah went with Stevie to her appointment." _Shrugging his shoulders, he strolled into the kitchen to find something to eat. Just as he was rummaging through the refrigerator, he heard a whimper and a loud crash. Quickly he bolted upright, looking in the direction he thought he heard the crash come from; Leah's room.

Curiosity and concern got the better of him, so he shut the fridge and silently made his way back to Leah's bedroom. Opening the door, he could see someone slumped over on the floor of the balcony, blood staining anything and everything out there. His eyes widened in alarm as soon as he realized who it was.

"Leah!" He sprinted toward the balcony doors, careful not to fall over Leah as he scrambled to open them without hitting her. The gruesome sight in front of him stopped his heart cold. Leah's wrist was so completely hacked up; he couldn't distinguish where the blood and gore started and the flesh ended. She had apparently passed out and crashed into the table, knocking over and breaking the plant sitting on top of it.

Tom grew sick to his stomach and whipped out his cell phone, gathering Leah in his arms. "Hello, 911? We need an ambulance, fast!"

**XXXX**


	28. Chapter 28

The sound of sirens slowly brought Leah back into conciseness. Finding herself lying on her back, her arms and legs bound to her sides, she opened her eyes to find Tom staring down at her with a worried expression on his face. "Tomi?" Her head pounded in her skull and her wrist stung like nobody's business. "Where the hell am I?"

"You're in an ambulance," he flatly stated, struggling to keep it together. "You tried to kill yourself, but I got home just in time." Shifting his eyes to gaze out the window, he couldn't bring himself to look at her any longer; it was just too painful.

As she let his reaction sink in, uncontrollable anger and frustration suddenly erupted from within Leah. "I don't need to go to the hospital!" She struggled against the restraints that bound her. "I'm completely fine!"

"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to calm down," the EMT Leah hadn't seen before gently spoke and attempted to settle her down. "We're almost there, don't worry."

"Like hell I'll calm down!" she spitefully shot back and struggled further.

Tom couldn't take it anymore. "Just stop it, Leah!" She stopped wriggling long enough to listen to what he had to say. "You know, I just don't get you. Colden almost killed you, TWICE, but for some reason, you were given another chance. Now you're just throwing it away! Why?"

Leah didn't know what to say. She'd never seen Tom so flustered, and it shut her up instantly. Settling down, she laid in silence for what seemed like forever; Tom, all the while, sitting next to her with his head in his hands, tears streaming down his face.

They arrived at the hospital, and Leah was taken to a room immediately, since she was a celebrity. The doctor concluded after examining her wrist that all she would need was a few stitches. Pulling him to the side out of Leah's earshot, Tom confided in the doctor his worries about her.

"She's been in and out of the hospital off and on for the past year or so, doc," he crossed his arms, hardly raising his voice above a whisper. "I'm really concerned for her mental health."

Sighing, the doctor replied, "It is not uncommon for someone like Leah to have thoughts and feelings of depression after what's she's been through. Give it a couple of weeks. If these behaviors arise again, I'd strongly recommend an intervention."

Tom nodded his head. "I just got off the phone with my fiancé before we arrived. She thinks it's time for one."

"When are you planning on having it?"

"Two weeks," Tom unfolded his arms and shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing over at Leah. "Right after a movie premiere we're all going to."

The doctor gave a slight nod. "Very good. Let me know if you need anything before then. Depression patients can be extremely unpredictable, so keep your eyes on her at all times."

**XXXX**

"Really, I don't see how any of this is necessary." Leah rolled her eyes as Stevie and Tom explained their concerns for her. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Perfectly fine people don't attempt suicide," Stevie gently reminded her friend. "We just don't want you to do anything stupid."

Leah sighed in frustration and quickly stood up from the couch in their living room. "This is ridiculous. I need to go get ready for the premiere." Storming to her room, she slammed the door, rattling the cabinets in the hallway.

Stevie look at Tom, tears brimming in her chocolaty brown eyes. "I don't know how much more of this I can take, Tomi." She scooted over to him and rested her head on his shoulder, taking his hand in hers. "It's been two weeks, and she completely refuses to accept that she needs help. I just don't know what to do anymore." The stress of the last two weeks weighed heavily on her mind; and the fact that her on-again-off-again sickness wasn't going away any time soon made matters worse.

Tom sighed and wrapped his arm around her. "I know, I know. Let's just hope that tomorrow night's intervention doesn't end in disaster."

After bringing Leah home from the hospital two weeks ago, Tom had called the G's, Bill, and Maria, letting them all know what was going down. They all agreed to fly out the night of the premiere to help out in any way they could. They knew how Leah was, and that she wouldn't go down without a fight. The way they saw it, this was Leah's last chance to save whatever part of herself was left. They just hoped it wouldn't blow up in their faces.

**XXXX**

"Leah, are you ready?" Stevie called out as she inspected herself in the living room mirror. The long, flowing crimson dress she wore complimented her quite nicely; she smiled to herself as she adjusted the off-the-shoulder top and made last minute touch ups. "Leah?" At the sound of footsteps, Stevie quickly turned to see Leah, in all her glory, stepping into the living room. "Oh, sissy!" she gasped. "You look gorgeous!"

Leah stood there timidly in her black and purple cocktail dress; it fell just above her knees. Her bandaged wrist was hidden by a black lacey fingerless glove. Flicking her gently tousled hair out of her eyes and gracefully stooping to zip up her black velvety ankle boots, she smiled. "Thanks sissy! But you're the gorgeous one!"

Making her way over to Leah, Stevie took her hand and spun her around. "We're going to be the talk of the premiere tonight! I mean, look at us!" They stopped twirling to admire themselves in the mirror. "We're knock-outs!"

"I'll say!" Tom smirked as he leaned against the doorframe to the kitchen. "Wow!" he catcalled. "How did I manage to pull off bringing _two_ smoking hot women to the premiere? Oh, that's right." He sauntered over in their direction. "Cause I'm a sex god…"

Leah rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh sure, _that's_ why." Looking him up and down, she whistled. "And don't _we_ look handsome tonight?"

It was true. With his new look, Tom never looked better; the way he carried himself in his less-baggy-than-usual black jeans, black and red Reeboks, and his dark crimson embellished hoodie over a black and white Volcom shirt drove the two girls crazy.

"How did I ever manage to get such a fox like you, Tomi?" Stevie giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He smiled, sliding his arms around her tiny waist. "Just lucky, I guess."

"Oh, God…" Leah shook her head and placed her good hand on her hip. "We _all_ know how beautiful you are, Tom. Now let's go; we're going to be late!"

**XXXX**

"Leah, Stevie, Tom! Over here!" Flashes of light exploded everywhere as the three friends walked down the red carpet; the paparazzi calling them every which way they turned.

Putting on their best smiles, they posed every once in a while for the paps, giving interviews to the various camera crews lining the carpet as they walked along.

Taking both Tom and Stevie by the hands, Leah stepped back a few feet, allowing their bodyguard, a German heavyweight names Kristofer, keep the photographers at bay. "Guys, you don't think anyone noticed my wrist, do you?" she asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

Tom gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure nobody even noticed it at all!" He squeezed her good hand gently. "They're all too distracted by how unbelievable you look!"

Wrinkling her nose, Leah's cheeks flushed bright red. "You really think so?"

"We KNOW so!" smiled Stevie. "Just have fun tonight! Don't worry about the past couple of weeks!" Turning to Kristofer to let him know that everything was alright, she spotted Zac Efron coming their way with his date. "Oh my God, Leah! Look!"

Leah gasped as the movie star reached them, extending a friendly smile. "Hey guys!" he warmly exclaimed. "So glad you could make it to my premiere!"

"Thanks, man," Tom responded with a smile. "And who is this lovely lady? A friend of yours?"

The woman on Zac's arm blushed. "This is my fiancé, Katarina," Zac answered, beaming as he slid his arm around her waist. "We just got engaged last night!"

"Oh, congratulations!" Leah smiled and hugged the two of them. As she pulled away from hugging them, the lace glove covering her wrist snagged on the zipper of Katarina's dress, completely unraveling it, exposing her arm to the entire red carpet. Mortified, she stood frozen as the paparazzi snapped away, calling her even louder than before.

"Hey, emo princess! Look this way!"

"Nice stitches! They don't exactly go with your outfit, though!"

"Leah! Leah! Are you a cutter?"

"Is your break up with Bill sending you spiraling downward?"

Frantically looking from Tom to Stevie, Leah stood frozen in humiliation. "I…I…"

"Alright, that's enough!" Kristofer stepped in, shielding them from the flashing lights. "Nothing to see, here!" He escorted them inside the theater, making sure to go as fast as he could. Once inside, safe from the paparazzi, Leah completely broke down in Stevie and Tom's arms.

"That…was…horrible!" she gasped between sobs. "Oh! I wish Billa was here!" She felt herself losing control.

**XXXX**


	29. Chapter 29

"Come on, Tomi, pick up!" Bill muttered and tapped his foot impatiently. "Hey Tom, its Bill. We're at the condo, so I guess we'll just wait for you guys here. Call me back. Ich liebe dich." Hanging up the phone with a sigh, he turned to face Maria, Georg, and Gustav, who were all seated in the living room. "Still no answer, guys."

Maria glanced at the three guys nervously. "You don't think there's something the matter, do you?"

"I don't know," replied Bill as he took a seat next to her. "But it's not like Tomi to just…not pick up. Something's wrong."

"Why don't we just try and relax till they get here?" Georg smiled uneasily, fumbling with the television remote. "Let's see what's on."

As the TV came to life in front of them, so did their suspicions. The movie premiere live event was on E!, and all of the blood drained from Bill's face when they aired the condemning footage of Leah. Zooming in on a photo of her wrist, the show's host verbally tore her to shreds.

_"Leah McAllister caught red-handed! Literally! It seems as though the rising rock star's career might be over before it begins! Take a look at these photos from tonight's event!"_

Photo after photo appeared on the screen, displaying to the world Leah's stitched up arm.

"Turn it off!" Bill couldn't take it. Quickly he stood up, clutching his head. He'd have to live with those images for the rest of his life.

"Sorry, sorry!" Georg shut off the television as fast as his hands would allow him. "How was I supposed to know she'd be plastered all over the TV?"

Suddenly, Bill's phone rang, startling him. He fumbled with it, finally answering on the fourth ring. "Hallo?"

"Oh Bill, I'm glad I caught you!" came Tom's voice from the other end. "I've been trying to reach you for the last half hour!"

Bill shifted the phone to his left ear. "We saw the photos from tonight. They're all over the TV. What the hell happened?"

"It doesn't matter; the problem is that it DID happen. That's what I was calling you about." Tom sounded worried.

Walking back over to the others, Bill turned on the speakerphone, setting his cell on the coffee table. "Everyone's here, Tomi. What's the plan?"

"Alright guys, listen up. We're moving the intervention to tonight. Leah's about to crash and burn; she's locked herself in the bathroom for over a half hour now, and Stevie's trying her hardest to get her to come out."

The others grew silent. Maria bit her lip to keep it from quivering. Gustav lowered his head into his hands; truly and utterly speechless. Georg glanced at Bill, who had grown ghostly pale.

"Bill, I know this is going to be murder for you," Tom continued. "But I'm going to have to have you lead the intervention. Leah won't listen to anybody but you right now."

Closing his eyes for a moment, Bill struggled to keep it together. "Alright, I'll do it. I'd do anything for her. I just hope she's willing to see that after all that's happened."

**XXXX**

"Leah, honey, please come out!" Stevie pleaded with her friend for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"I can't!" came Leah's small voice from inside the stall. "I just can't! Everyone knows! Everyone's going to stare at me like I'm some kind of freak!" Softly, she continued to cry, letting the hopelessness of the situation grip her tightly. "I just want to go home!"

Stevie sighed. Where was Tom? "Alright, anything you want, sissy. We can just go home, there's nothing more to do here anyways!" She smiled to herself. "Why don't you just come out of there so we can find Tomi and leave, okay? Sound good?"

A short period of silence ensued. Ever so slowly, the latch on the stall door unlocked, and Leah humbly emerged, her heavy makeup slightly running from her eyes. Keeping her eyes downcast, she made her way over to Stevie, burying her face in her shoulder.

A gentle smile crept onto Stevie's face as she embraced her broken friend. "That's better. Look at me, sweetie." She lifted Leah's chin to look her in the eyes. "No matter what happens, just remember how much I love you. You're like my sister! I just hate seeing you like this!"

"Thanks sissy," Leah sniffled and dried her eyes. "I love you, too. Let's just get out of here, huh?"

Giving each other one last squeeze, they exited the bathroom and found Tom, who had his Escalade ready to go out the back way, so that nobody could follow them.

**XXXX**

"Here they come, here they come!" Gustav called to the others as he spotted Leah, Tom, and Stevie pull into a parking spot outside of the condo. "They're here!"

Bill's stomach knotted up and his heart jumped into his throat. He hadn't seen or heard from Leah in over three weeks, and these weren't exactly the ideal circumstances he would have chosen to see her again. Nervously he paced back and forth, letting his nerves get the better of him.

"Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, this is going to be disastrous," he murmured to no one in particular.

"Bill, calm down!" Maria placed her hand on his shoulder. "Everything's going to be fine, don't worry. We've been planning this for a while now, you know what to do." Giving him a slight smile, she squeezed his shoulder and then walked over to take a seat on the couch.

The three guys all seemed to be walking on pins and needles; they were just afraid of how upset Leah would be with them.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Stevie and Tom entered through it, slowly followed by Leah, not realizing what was happening until she was well in the room. Glancing from person to person, she finally rested her gaze on Bill, who looked as white as a ghost. "What's going on here, guys?" She drilled him with her stare. "Why are you here?"

The others silently looked to Bill, who took a deep breath and slowly made his way over to Leah, taking both of her hands in his. "Leah, we need to talk to you about something important."

**XXXX**


	30. Chapter 30

**(First of all, sorry I haven't written since February! I've been so busy! SO. Here's an EXTRA long chapter for you guys. C: And you might want to reread/catch up with the rest of the story, so it all makes sense! Hahaha. ~Marisa)**

Leah's eyes danced nervously from person to person as she let go of Bill's hands. "I don't understand," she said as she started to back up.

Everyone grew deathly silent and averted all eye contact with Leah. One by one, they all began to realize how the night was going to end.

Seeing that he would be leading the intervention alone, Bill sighed and gently led Leah to the couch, quietly sitting down beside her. "How have you been feeling, Leah?" he asked. "Has anything been bothering you lately?"

"Um, no…" she fumbled with her fingers as she bit her lip. "Everything's actually been getting better."

The twins shot each other an all-knowing look. "Really?" Bill inquired and shifted his weight toward her. "Because that's not what I've been hearing…"

"I'm fine." Leah shot him a warning look.

"Hmm. And how would you describe 'fine'?" He cocked an eyebrow. "People who are 'fine' don't slit their wrists. People who are 'fine' don't try to take their own lives. People who are 'fine'…"

"Alright!" Leah bursted in anger. "I get it! I'm not oh-freakin-kay! But guess what?" she fidgeted in her seat. "None of you really care!" The realization of what was really happening hit her like a ton of bricks. "You all think I'm crazy!"

"Now, Leah…" started Stevie.

"No!" Leah suddenly stood up. "I don't want to hear it!"

Tom rushed over to her and gently placed her hand in his. "Leah, I know this looks bad, but all we're trying to do is let you know how worried we are about you!" He pleaded with his eyes. "Would you please just listen to us? Please?" He squeezed her hand and gave her half a smile.

Leah hesitated. "…alright. Alright, I'll stay." She let go of his hand and sat back down on the couch next to Bill, careful to scoot away from him as much as she could. "But just what exactly are you planning on telling me? That cutting and suicide aren't okay?" She looked around the room from person to person. "Cause I already know that, guys."

"Leah," Maria ventured, on the verge of tears. "Do you realize how much you mean to us? Do you even know how much you are loved? Any one of these people here, myself included, would give up their lives for you! Me, Stevie, Gustav, Georg, Tom, and yes, even Bill –_ ESPECIALLY_ Bill- all love you to death!" The first of many tears silently slipped down her cheek. "Why can't you see that?"

Leah sat unmovingly in her seat, eyes downcast.

Georg swallowed hard and tried to keep himself together as best as he possibly could. "She's right, you know." He glanced in Leah's direction. "I don't think any of us would know what to do if you weren't here. We'd miss you too much." Braving half a smile, he continued. "Personally, Leah, I think you're one of the most amazing people I know. The way you make everyone fall in love with your personality and beauty is just amazing. It's certainly not something just _anyone_ can do. You're special." He managed to catch her gaze. "Don't ever think you're anything less than that."

Leah didn't know what to say. Her lip began to tremble and her eyes started to mist. "Georg, I…" her voice trailed off and she lowered her eyes. Biting her lip, she didn't dare say anything more, for fear of breaking down in front of everyone.

"I know I usually don't say much," Gustav started as he made his way over to Leah, sitting down next to her and taking her small hand in his big, strong hand. "But I just wanted to tell you that you're amazing, Leah. You're one of my very best friends in the whole entire world, and I don't know what I'd do without you." He gently squeezed her hand and smiled a very loving smile. "I just don't want you to hurt yourself anymore, okay?"

"That goes for me as well," Tom interjected. "I hate seeing you like this. I miss the Leah who smiled all the time. The one who'd joke around and tease Bill with me. The one who didn't care about making anyone else happy but herself. The one who actually cared about herself. Where did _that_ Leah go?" His voice cracked and shook as he spoke. "How could you even believe for one second that none of us care about you? Leah, we all _love _you! I love you! You hear me? _I LOVE YOU!_ That alone should be reason enough to stop you from killing yourself!"

With Tom's sudden outburst, Leah felt like she was being attacked. Snapping up her head and standing up out of her seat, she screamed back, "I will _not_ sit here and be told what I should or shouldn't be feeling! I don't need this!"

She started to turn to leave, but Tom rushed over and took her in his arms, struggling to keep a hold on her as she screamed and fought against him. "Leah! Leah! Hey!" He got her to settle down. "Look at me!"

Reluctantly she gave up and looked into his concerned face, breathing heavily.

"Leah, I'm sorry!" Tom struggled through his rising emotion. "I'm so sorry. I just…you're my best friend. I only want what's best for you." He pulled her into a warm embrace, not wanting to let go of her.

Leah could feel the tears welling up inside of her, threatening to burst at any moment. She bit her lip to keep them at bay as she and Tom separated and took their seats. She quietly sat down with her head in her hands; unable to speak or move or process what was happening. How could she have let things get this bad? She felt a small arm wrap around her shoulders.

"Leah?" Stevie whispered. "I know you must hate me right now, but I just wanted to tell you that there is _nothing_ you could ever do that would make me stop loving you." She tilted Leah's tearful face to look her straight in the eyes. "You're my sissy. You'll always be my sissy. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Leah sniffled and wiped her eyes, remaining silent. She gave Stevie a look as if to say, _thank you so much, sissy._ All suddenly became silent.

Bill could feel everyone's eyes rest on him…all but Leah's. Taking a deep breath, he brushed his dreaded hair from his face and spoke softly. "Leah."

She sheepishly lifted her eyes to meet his.

Taking her by the hand, Bill spoke gently and steadily. "Leah, you are the most phenomenal person in the whole entire world. I don't know what it is about you, but you just captivate me. And it absolutely kills me inside knowing that you're…" He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Billa, please…" Leah started to pull away.

"No," Bill kept a hold of her hands, not wanting to let her go. "I have to tell you whether you like it or not. I – we – we're all worried about you. These suicide attempts have _got_ to stop, sweetheart." Tears began to form in his eyes. "We'll do anything and everything to make sure that you're alright. I don't care how long it takes…I just want my Leah back."

Leah couldn't take it anymore. She let the tears come as sobs wracked her tiny body. Burying her face in Bill's neck as he engulfed her in his arms, she could all but mutter, "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

**XXXX**

` "Leah, Leah, Leah…"

_She thought she could get away._

"I see you up there. Peek-a-boo!"

_Just turn around, you don't know how close I am._

"We'll be meeting again soon…"

_ Not soon enough._

"Funny how you think you're still safe with _**HIM…**_"

_Just wait till I take him out._

"We'll see who the weak one is then…"

_I'm gonna make you scream._

"Just _try_ to run and hide, Leah. It won't work this time."

_There is no escape. Not now. Not ever._

"Let's see how well you can handle this…"

Colden pulled out his cell phone and opened it up to send a text. He stealthily tucked himself away in the alley behind the condo, his face illuminated by the glow of the screen of his phone.

"And…send. Sweet dreams, Leah."

With that, he took off into the night.

**XXXX**

The intervention had gone late into the night. Leah agreed to get help, as long as she didn't have to stay in the mental hospital. After everyone hugged and told her goodnight, she and Bill talked into the wee hours of the morning. It had been ages since they had really talked, and they both felt that it was much needed.

Yawning deeply, Bill's eyes fluttered open to the dim morning light peeking through the closed curtains. He felt Leah's soft breath ticking his neck, and he smiled to himself as he pulled her closer. She was sound asleep, breathing steadily as he held her.

Ever so softly, Bill began to sing. "_Is there anybody out there walking alone? Is there anybody out there, out in the cold? One heartbeat lost in the crowd… Is there anybody shouting what no one can hear? Is there anybody drowning, pulled down by their fear? I feel you, don't look away…"_

**XXXX**

Leah felt like she was in a dream. Warmth engulfed her entire body, and somewhere in the distance, someone was singing the most beautiful song she'd ever heard.

_Zoom into me…zoom into me…when the world cuts your soul into pieces and you start to bleed…_

Her eyes slowly opened to Bill's beautiful face; her ears filled with the sound of his sweet voice.

_When you can't breathe, I will be there…Zoom into me…_

**XXXX**

Bill was unaware that Leah had silently awakened and had heard him softly singing, until he heard her small voice.

"That was beautiful, Billa…"

He lifted his chin off Leah's head and lovingly snuggled her closer under the covers. "I wrote it just for you, sweetheart."

"You did?" she smiled to herself and let out a small yawn. "That was incredibly sweet of you."

"I try," Bill whispered and kissed her lightly. _"This is how it should be,"_ he thought to himself.

They let the moment linger, not wanting to break the momentary bliss. For a moment, it was like nothing had ever changed between them. It was like nothing could ever break the spell of that moment.

"I missed this," whispered Leah, her face buried in Bill's neck.

"I missed this, too." Bill smiled, feeling Leah's eyelashes tickle his neck. "More than you know." He lifted her chin and kissed her once more. "I can't tell you how happy I am that you're getting better. I don't know what I'd do without my best girl."

Looking into his eyes, Leah smiled and crinkled her nose. "It's time I started everything over. Especially with us." She thought Bill's eyes were so extremely beautiful in the morning; no makeup to distract from their natural beauty. "I really do love you, Billa. So, so much."

"I love you too, sweetheart," he smiled, resting his forehead on hers.

Leah's phone vibrated on the glass bedside table behind her. Sighing, she reluctantly rolled over and grabbed it. Glancing at the screen, she said, "One new text. Who would be texting me this early in the morning?"

**XXXX**


	31. Chapter 31

"Billa, we need to go." Leah flung the covers off her body and hurriedly began gathering clothes and shoes and anything else she'd need. "We need to go _RIGHT NOW._"

Bill furrowed his brow and cautiously climbed out of bed. "You wanna let me in on the fun, here?" His eyes darted back and forth as he watched Leah run from one end of the room to the other, gathering clothes. "What exactly was in that text message that's got you so frazzled?"

"Read for yourself…" Leah whimpered, gently tossing her phone to Bill, who caught it in his left hand.

Keeping half an eye on Leah, he opened her phone to read the text.

_"Oh, Leah. You're so cute when you think you're safe. Just goes to show you how little you know…Oh, and by the way, you might want to close your curtains. Not everyone wants to see you have a mental breakdown. However, __**I**__ found it oh so encouraging…watch your back. –Colden"_

**XXXX**

"Let me see it again." Tom grabbed Leah's phone out of Bill's hand, silently reading through the text at least three more times. "That sick bastard…" he whispered under his breath, handing the phone to Leah.

"The next time I see that pig, I'm going to beat the living hell out of him…" Georg paced back and forth in the living room, where they all had gathered, mumbling to himself. Turning to face Leah, he said, "How did he even find you? I thought he'd be halfway to Mexico by now…everyone is looking for him! I…I just…" He couldn't seem to keep his thoughts together.

"G, it's okay." Leah placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. "We've just gotta get out of here ASAP." Giving him half a smile, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "I'm sorry, guys. If I had just listened to you about him, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Maria walked over and squeezed her friend in a giant hug. "Leah, don't blame yourself. Colden is a selfish, manipulating, evil person. If it wasn't you, it would have been some other girl." She pulled away; a look of sympathy crossed her face. "Don't beat yourself up over something you couldn't control."

"I'm not, I just…I still feel terrible about it." Leah stared into her friend's dark brown eyes. "I hate that all of you had to be dragged into this…"

Bill wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her cheek. "Sweetheart, there's no way in hell that we're going to let you go through this alone!"

"Yeah!" Tom chimed in. "Our number one priority right now is to keep you safe. And if that means we start the tour a little bit early so we can get away from here as soon as possible, then by all means…bring it on!"

Leah sighed and looked around the room, searching each and every one of their faces. "I really don't know what to say, other than I'm sorry." She lowered her gaze, slipping from Bill's arms. "Can you guys ever forgive me?"

"Already forgiven, sissy," Stevie smiled. "Don't worry about it. My brother's a sick person…I can see that now more than ever. It's really not your fault."

"Alright, you guys," Gustav popped his head out from the kitchen. "I just got off the phone with Jost. The tour is a go, and we leave tonight." He glanced at Leah and gave her half a smile. "Everybody, start packing!"

**XXXX**

Sitting on the tour bus, traveling to LA to their first stop in Hollywood, the gang tried to keep Leah's mind off of Colden by talking about their plans for the next three days.

"Well, since our first show isn't for three more days," Bill casually wrapped his arm around Leah's shoulder and smiled. "We thought we could spend some time sight-seeing around Hollywood. How does _that_ sound?"

"Oh, I'd love that!" Leah's face lit up. "I've always wanted to go to Hollywood! Ever since I was little I've…" Leah stopped mid-sentence, staring at Stevie. "Sissy, are you okay? You look a little green…"

Stevie stood up and found it hard to keep her balance. "I…I don't feel too great right now…" Her eyes grew wide and she quickly clamped her mouth shut with her hands, making a beeline for the bathroom.

Coming from the back of the bus, Tom brushed by Stevie just in time to witness her puking her guts out into the toilet. He rushed into the bathroom, kneeling down beside her, not knowing what to do. "Oh my God, Stevie! Are you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm okay?" her voice came from the toilet rough and raspy. "Oh God, here it comes again…" Another round of vomit.

Maria peeked her head into the bathroom. "Tom, why don't you go and sit with the guys. I got this."

"Alright," Tom sighed, standing up. "Feel better, babe." He kissed the top of her head and exited. Once the door closed behind him, a mind-numbing thought entered his brain. _"Oh, God. Please don't let it be that!"_

**XXXX**

Once settled at the hotel in Hollywood, the gang decided to take the following day to just hang out at the hotel and be lazy. Leah was looking forward to the rest and relaxation…Lord knows she needed it!

As she prepared for bed, she heard a light knock on the door. Rounding the corner from the bathroom, she peered out the peephole to see Bill and Tom standing outside in the hall.

"Hey, guys!" she smiled as she opened the door to let them in. "What brings you to _my_ little room?"

Tom smirked and brushed past her, making his way toward the bed. "We just thought we'd grace you with our presence before retiring for the night." He sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to him. "Take a seat, little missy!"

Leah shot Bill a confused look, but he nodded his head in his brother's direction.

Taking a seat next to Tom, she sighed and mumbled, "So what is this _really_ all about?"

Bill sat down next to Leah, taking her hand. "We wanted to make sure that you were okay. Dealing with what's happening isn't exactly the easiest thing, especially since you're not in a great place right now." He shot her a loving smile, squeezing her hand.

"And we also wanted to let you know that you're 100% safe with us. We've doubled up on security and everything," Tim smiled, squeezing her other hand.

Leah grinned. "You guys are the absolute best, you know that? I don't know what I would do without you."

"You'd go crazy without us," winked Bill. "Especially me!"

"Hey now, baby brother," Tom teased. "I think we _ALL_ know that she loves _ME_ more!"

Leah giggled, swatting both of them on the arm. "Boys, boys, boys! Please! There's enough of me to go around!"

"Not if I eat you first!" Bill lunged and tackled Leah, covering her with kisses.

"Hey!" cried Tom. "Lemme get in on some of this action!" Jumping on top of both of them, he tickled Leah mercilessly.

Laughing and gasping for air, Leah cried, "Alright! Alright! Enough! Stop it!"

Tom rolled over, laughing hysterically. "Oh, you love it! Admit it!"

Finally settling down, Leah lay in between the two most important guys in her life, smiling like there was no tomorrow. "You're right! I do love you guys!" She took their hands in hers. "It's times like this that make me so happy that I'm sill here."

"We're happy you're still here, too!" Bill exclaimed.

And together, the three of them talked and laughed the night away.

**XXXX**


	32. Chapter 32

"Tomi…"

Tom felt Stevie's sweet breath tickle his ear.

"Tomi, it's time to get up…"

Crinkling his nose, he peeked open his eyes to see Stevie snuggled up beside him, kissing his neck and face. "Well, good morning, sunshine…" He gently traced her curves with his fingertips and kissed her lightly. It was moments like this where Tom thought to himself, _I can't believe I get to marry this incredible woman._ "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Well good morning to you too!" Stevie smiled. "And thank you. You know you smile and laugh in your sleep, Tomi?"

"I do not!" Tom smirked, letting his hands wander up Stevie's back. "That would be creepy. And I am _not_ creepy…" He found the hook to her bra, letting his fingers linger. "…am I?"

Stevie walked her fingers up his bare chest. "Only just a little bit!" She smiled as she looked into his dark eyes. "But you know something?" She gave him an eskimo kiss. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Suddenly pulling her on top of him, Tom smiled, "Good. Cause things are about to get _real_ creepy…"

"Tomi, you're such an idiot," Stevie giggled. "But that's why I love you."

"Sure it is." He pulled her into a kiss and squeezed her tightly. He couldn't believe he managed to get such an amazing girl. Relationships were never his thing, but for Stevie…he'd go to the moon and back.

"I love you, Stevie," he whispered lovingly.

"I love you, too, Tomi."

Kisses floated in the air the rest of the morning.

**XXXX**

Leah wasn't used to relaxing this much. She, Stevie, and Maria all lay out by the poolside, soaking up the sun, as the guys amused themselves in the pool.

"Watch it, Bill!" Leah laughed. "You're getting me all wet!"

"Bill shrugged and smiled. "Sorry babe! I was aiming for Tom's head!"

"You're such a pansy, Bill," Tom retorted. "You can't even get your own older brother…"

Tom felt his legs get tugged down as he was yanked underwater, cutting off the end of his sentence.

"Yeah. Who's the pansy now, Tom?" Georg chuckled as Tom resurfaced.

"I'm going to get you for that, G. Just you wait!"

A sudden flash went off, blinding him.

"What the hell was that?" Leah looked around curiously.

Another bright flash.

"Where is that coming from?" Gustav climbed out of the pool and squinted in the sunlight.

Maria caught a glimpse of something just above the fence surrounding the pool. "Aha. There they are." She pointed, saying, "I guess the tabloids wanna sneak a peek."

Leah could barely make out the forms hidden by the fence, but there was no doubt that the paparazzi inevitably found them. Careful to hide her still-stitched-up wrist, she whispered, "Well what are they even doing here? How did they find us?"

"Eh, word probably got out that we're all here," Bill shrugged. "At least there's only a couple of them."

"Yeah, at least they're not swarming the whole freakin hotel!" smirked Tom. "Just ignore them."

Leah's eyes shifted nervously from the fence to her friends. "You don't think they got a shot of my wrist, do you?" The concern in her voice caused it to shake slightly.

"Don't worry, sissy," Stevie patted her leg. "They're all the way over there, and you had your wrist covered up the whole time. There's no way they could have made that shot."

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure," warned Georg. "About a year ago, when we were in Hamburg recording some tracks for the record, they caught me leaving the bar with Gustav. We were totally wasted and were stumbling all over the place. They ate it up." He rolled his eyes.

Maria shot him a warning look. "But I'm sure they didn't get a picture of your wrist, Leah. Don't listen to that idiot over there." She gave Georg half a smile, which he returned.

Climbing out of the water and making his way over to Leah, Bill took hold over her hand and sat next to her. "Just ignore them, sweetheart."

"Can we please just go inside?" Leah questioned apologetically.

"You bet," smiled Gustav, wrapping a towel around his waist. "I was getting all wrinkly anyways!"

**XXXX**

"_**LEAH McALLISTER PLAYS IT COOL BY THE POOL WITH TOKIO HOTEL AND OTHERS. AFTER HER RUN IN WITH THE HOSPITAL A FEW WEEKS AGO FOR AN APPARENT SUICIDE ATTEMPT, COULD SHE BE TRYING TO TAKE HER MIND OFF OF THE STITCHES DECORATING HER LEFT ARM? FIND OUT AT 11, ONLY ON E! NEWS."**_

__"Well," Leah curtly stated, the remote firmly grasped in her hand. "So much for not having anything get out!" Tossing the remote on the floor, she flopped back onto the bed, burying her face in her pillow.

The others looked at the TV, speechless.

"Word travels fast in this town, huh?" Tom raised an eyebrow.

"What am I gonna do?" Leah whimpered from under the pillow. "I can't believe my hacked up arm is going to be plastered all over E! again…"

Bill gingerly sat next to her limp form. "I'll tell you what you're _not_ going to do. You're not gonna let this get to you." He removed the pillow from her face, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "You hear me, Leah? You're bigger than this."

She looked up at him and rolled over onto her back. "I guess you're right. Let's just go out and do something." She sat up and sighed. "At the very least, let's get out of this hotel for a while. We can't hide in this room forever."

**XXXX**

"Are you serious?" Leah questioned, smiling happily. "Thanks so much, Anna! Talk to you tonight!"

She closed her phone and squealed with joy at the others seated around the table in Maxwell's, a fancy restaurant. "Guys, you are never going to believe this! My publicist just called, and guess what she told me?"

"Obviously it's something exciting," Gustav threw his napkin at Leah. "Just tell us!"

Leah threw the napkin back, which Gustav caught and set on the table.

"Anna just told me that before your guys' concert on Thursday, I'll be holding an autograph session for my fans!" Leah could hardly contain her excitement. "My first autograph sesh! Can you believe it?"

"Wow, Leah! That's awesome!" Stevie congratulated her friend. "I nearly forgot your EP came out last week!" She squeezed Leah's hand. "I guess in the whirlwind of what was going on these last couple of days, it slipped my mind!"

"It slipped mine, too," smiled Leah. "I can't believe I forgot! It's amazing I still _have_ fans after what's happened…"

"Hey now!" Bill kissed her forehead. "It's _you_ we're talking about! There's just something about you that everyone loves, sweetheart!" He lifted her chin to look her in her blue-grey eyes. "You're gonna be great. I know it."

**XXXX**


	33. Chapter 33

A knock sounded on the door.

"Five minutes, Miss McAllister."

"Thank you!"

Leah and the guys all sat backstage as they waited for the autograph session to start. Jost thought it would be a great idea for Tokio Hotel to get some fan time in before the show, so both the band and Leah would be signing autographs.

Half an hour beforehand, Stevie and Maria went back to the hotel to get showered and ready for the show; they'd meet Leah and the guys at the venue later on.

Leah sat on a couch next to Bill, nervously bouncing her leg up and down. This was her very first autograph signing! She couldn't believe it. Her mind raced with thoughts and scenarios of how it was going to turn out. What if her fans didn't like her? What if they thought she was a bad person because of the whole cutting thing? What if they asked about Colden? What if they saw her stitches?

Glancing down at her wrist, which was covered with the sleeve of her powder blue shirt, she sighed.

Bill quickly picked up on her nervousness, and gently squeezed her knee. "Leah, everything is going to be fine." He flashed her a reassuring smile. "Trust me."

She sheepishly glanced up at him and stopped bouncing her leg. "I know, I know. But can you blame me for being nervous? Things haven't exactly been ideal lately."

"Well, your fans obviously care about you and love you enough that they came out here tonight!"

"I guess," Leah sighed. She tried her best to put on a genuine smile. "We'll find out soon enough!"

Tom jumped onto Bill's lap, smothering him. "Don't worry, Leah! We'll be right there with you!" He smiled as he fought off Bill's flailing arms and legs. "And if my poor little baby brother is _too much of a wimp to help you,_" he laughed, leaning in harder on Bill. "I'll still be there! Isn't that right, Bi—"

Tom's body flung onto the floor, thudding gently.

"Tom, you should really be more careful!" his brother grinned, collecting himself. "And try not to be so clumsy, either!"

"You guys are ridiculous," Georg rolled his eyes and shook his head with a smile.

"I second that," mumbled Gustav, who had just shoved an entire cookie in his mouth.

"Guys, let's go!" Jost peeked in his head.

Leah sighed. Show time.

**XXXX**

Fan after fan after fan moved down the table, wanting autographs and pictures and sometimes an occasional kiss on the cheek from Tom, which Stevie was fine with so long as it was _only_ a kiss.

An hour and a half had passed, and although Leah's hand was starting to cramp, she was more than happy to sign anything her fans wanted! As the session was nearing its end and the line came to its last fan, she exchanged a glance with Bill. _This was amazing!_

A little boy, no more than 8 or 9 years old came up to the table, all smiles. "Hi! I'm Brandon Henderson! I'm your biggest fan, Leah!" He grinned and pointed to his homemade t-shirt, which read, "_Leah for Life!_" He turned his back and exclaimed, "Look at the back, too!" He had drawn a picture of her as best as he could. Leah melted.

"Aww, Brandon! That's so awesome!" she smiled, rounding the table and stooping to his level. "Would you like if I signed it?"

Brandon's eyes grew wide. "Yes! Yes, oh please, yes!"

Leah pointed to the sharpies on the table. "Which color, buddy?"

Brandon scrunched his nose as he thought. "Um…purple!"

"Purple is my absolute favorite color," Leah said to the smiling boy as she signed his shirt. "And…there you go, Brandon!"

He looked up at her with adoring eyes. "Would it be okay if I got a picture with you and Bill?"

"Of course!" Leah exclaimed and gestured for Bill to join them. "Anything for my new little friend!"

Brandon's eyes lit up as he stood in between Bill and Leah for the picture, holding their hands in his little ones. "This is the best 8th birthday ever!"

"It's your 8th birthday, huh?" smiled Bill, squatting to meet his eyes. "I'll tell you what. How about you and your parents join Leah in the VIP section for the concert, and then we'll all hang out for a little bit afterwards? How's that for a birthday present, from us to you?"

Brandon's mouth hung open. "You mean it?"

"I sure do!" Bill winked.

"That…would be…AWESOME!" Brandon bursted, squealing with delight. "Only my parents didn't bring me, my sister did! She took our picture!" He waved for his sister to join them. "Come here, Rach!"

Brandon's sister walked over and smiled at the group. "Hey! I'm Rachel." She took her little brother's hand. "I see you already met Brandon!"

"Sissy, they want to hang out with us after the show!" he grinned, squeezing her hand. "And we get to sit with Leah! Bill said it was a birthday present!"

Rachel looked from Leah to Bill and back again, eyes wide. "Seriously?"

"You bet!" Leah said. "That is, if you guys want to."

"Of course!" Rachel exclaimed, picking up her brother excitedly.

"Then it's settled!" Bill smiled. "We'll have security escort you both to the VIP section with Leah once the show is about to start!"

Brandon wrapped his arms around his sister's neck and buried his face, peeking out at Leah. "This really _is _the best birthday ever!"

**XXXX**

Watching Brandon sing his little heart out to every song made Leah's night. She and Rachel had tons of fun too, but _clearly_ Brandon was the ultimate fan there. He held Leah's hand for almost the whole concert, and would occasionally look up at her in sheer amazement and joy. Leah was glad she could make his birthday special.

She, Brandon, and Rachel all met the guys (along with Stevie and Mara) in the Green Room backstage after the concert. As the guys cooled down and rested on the couches, Brandon chatted their ears off, asking a million questions, much to their delight.

Climbing up onto Bill's lap, he whispered in his ear, "Am I allowed to touch your hair?"

Bill laughed. "You sure are! Go ahead!"

Grinning from ear to ear, Brandon reached out his hand and took hold of one of Bill's dreads. "Oh! I like it! It feels like yarn!" he giggled, running his fingers all throughout the black and white jungle.

"You like it, huh?" Bill smiled.

"Yeah! How did you make it like that?" Brandon inquired with a mischievous look in his eye.

Bill took hold of both of Brandon's hands in his. "It took a very long time! A lady had to tangle it all up with a special comb."

"Really? That doesn't sound like fun." Brandon crinkled his nose. "But I still like it!" He hopped off of Bill's lap and ran over to Gustav.

"Hey!" he smiled, pulling on Gustav's shirt. "Why do you keep staring at my sister like that?"

Snapping out of his gaze transfixed on Rachel, Gustav blinked. "What? I'm not staring at her, silly!"

Brandon raised one eyebrow. "Oh yes you are!" He slipped his hand into the drummer's and tugged his arm so he would bend down. He whispered in his ear, "Do you love her?"

"Do I love her?" a smirk came across Gustav's face. "Well, I think she's pretty," he whispered back. "How about that?"

"I guess that's okay. I think you two should fall in love, though. Just don't treat her mean, okay?" The small boy looked at the drummer and smiled.

Gustav chuckled. "Okay. I won't be mean to her, I promise."

"Good!" Brandon exclaimed and ran to Tom, who swung him around in the air and plopped him down on the couch next to Stevie.

"Hey, are you gonna marry him?" he asked her and pointed to Tom. "You two look like you would do gooder than lotsa people when they get married."

Stevie giggled and pulled him on her lap. "I sure am! I can't wait to marry him!"

"And I can't wait to marry her!" Tom smiled, plopping down next to both of them. "She's a pretty nice lady, don't you think?"

"Yes, I do think!" Brandon said. "I hope I marry a pretty lady like her!"

Stevie blushed. "You're too cute!"

"I'm just tellin' the truths!" He climbed down off of her lap as she and Tom cracked up.

"Hey, G!" he called. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here!" Georg exclaimed as he picked Brandon up from behind, surprising the little boy. "Are you having fun, little man?"

"Heck yeah I am!" laughed Brandon. "I'm glad I got to hang out with you guys!"

"We're glad, too!" Maria tickled him. "It's awesome we got to hang out with you on your birthday!"

Brandon scrambled out of Georg's arms. "I know! You guys are so lucky!"

He ran over to Leah, who picked him up, lost in a giant Brandon-hug. "I'm happiest of all to see_ you_, Leah. You're my favorite."

Leah smiled. "Really? Well thanks, little man!" She walked him over to the corner of the room and sat them both down on the floor; him on her lap.

Brandon started to say something, but stopped as his fingers brushed her wrist. He looked down and pushed up her sleeve, staring at the stitches. "What's that?"

Leah quickly covered them and mumbled, "I just have a boo boo, sweetie. It's all better now."

He looked in her eyes, deep in thought. "Did that mean man, Colden do that to you?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"How do you know who that is?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"I saw it on TV." He paused, and then wrapped his tiny arms around her neck. "I'm glad he's gone now, Leah. He was mean to you."

"I'm glad he's gone, too," Leah sighed, trying her best to put on a smile.

"Forget about that meenie," Brandon kissed her cheek. "Just remember that I still love you, and then you'll feel better," he smiled.

"Brandon, it's time to go!" Rachel called, handing Gustav a slip of paper. "Say goodbye to everyone!"

Each person got a goodbye hug, but Brandon saved Leah for last. "Bye, Leah! I love you!" he smiled and waved as Rachel carried him to the door.

"Love you too, Brandon!" she smiled and waved back, happy tears running down her cheeks.

**XXXX**


	34. Chapter 34

_Look at me, you can tell, by the way I move and do my hair. Do you think that it's me, or it's not me? I don't even care. I'm alive, I don't smell, I'm the cleanest I have ever been. I feel big, I feel tall, I feel dry…dry…_

Colden lay facedown on the bed in the crummy hotel room he'd rented under a fake name. The Used blared through his ear buds as his mood darkened further and further.

_Just look at me, look at me now. I'm a fake, I'm a fake, I'm a fake, I'm a fake…_

He rolled over on his side to look at the clock radio on the wicker bed side table. 2:30 am.

"Well, now is a good a time as any." Slowly he picked himself off the bed, turning on the small lamp next to the clock radio. He walked over to his backpack and pulled out a video camera and mini tripod. Setting them up to face the bed, he hit the record button and sat down.

"Uh, hey. This is Colden Mitchell. But you already know that." He looked down at his fumbling hands, collecting his thoughts. "I'm the man who assaulted Leah McAllister. You already know _that_ as well."

_What the hell do you think you're doing?_

"I'm making this video to tell you that this whole thing is _far_ from being over. In fact, it's just the beginning."

A sly smile spread across his face. "I'd love to tell you every juicy detail, but that's not the main purpose here, kids. I thought I'd let you in on the mind of a wanted man."

His eyes grew dark and the smile disappeared from his face. "Let me tell you something. My mind is probably the most disturbing thing you could ever imagine. Sometimes, I even terrify _myself._"

He stood from the bed, pacing in front of the camera. "Have you ever been trapped in a dark, windowless prison cell? You try and try all you want to break down the bars, but you never break free. Now imagine that an inmate much bigger, scarier, stronger, and more powerful than you becomes your cell-mate. He hovers over you day and night, whispering dark and evil things in your ear. You try to resist him, but he's just too powerful to overcome. He slowly breaks you down, day by day, month by month, year by year, until you come to a point where you are no longer your own person…you have become him and he has become you."

Colden paused and looked straight into the camera.

"Welcome to my mind." The sly smile returned. "Only one other person has seen this side of me, and for that I should have killed her. I almost did. This time," he got close to the camera. "She won't be so lucky."

**XXXX**

Leah and the gang had a blast on the last day in Hollywood; they watched movies and ate junk food in their hotel rooms, they played an epic game of hide and seek in the lobby, ding-dong-ditched every room on their floor, took pictures with random people in the indoor pool, and made fantastic memories.

It was the end of the day, and everyone was carrying their suitcases and bags out to the tour bus, not looking forward to the 4 and a half hour bus ride to their next stop on the tour; Las Vegas. They were only staying there one night. The tour itself wasn't huge. They were only playing thirty cities till the end of July. But they loved it just the same.

All packed up and ready to go, the gang piled into the huge bus, crashing dead tired onto their bunks.

The others soon fell asleep as the bus rolled along, but Leah found herself still wide awake, curled up on her side under the covers. Thoughts of Colden flooded her mind, keeping it too busy to sleep.

Sighing quite audibly, she rolled over onto her back, resting one arm on her stomach and the other across her forehead. _I just can't seem to get away from him, can I?_

She could feel her body tense up as she recalled bits and pieces of the latest assault.

_Colden grabbed her by the neck and slammed her up against the wall, knocking down a painting._

_ Clawing at his hands around her neck, Leah gasped for the air her lungs were being denied. She tried to speak, but Colden threw her onto the couch._

_ "You should have loved me when you had the chance, Leah. Now you'll suffer just like I did!"_

Leah snapped her eyes open and gasped for air, bolting upright and smacking her head on the top of the bunk. "Schiesse!" she laid back down, gingerly feeling the bump now forming in the top of her head.

Bill's head popped down from above her. "Leah! Are you okay?" he questioned, glancing at the clock on his phone. "It's almost three in the morning! What the heck are you doing?"

"I just couldn't fall asleep," Leah sighed, a slight smile creeping onto her face. "What are _you_ doing up?"

"Well," Bill yawned. "You kind of jolted me out of my slumber with that headshot to the bottom of my bunk." He smiled. "Did you have a bad dream or something?"

Leah swallowed. "No, I was just thinking too much about…someone…" She rolled her eyes, disgusted with the whole situation.

"You know, I think—" Bill sentence was cut off by the vibration of Leah's phone under her pillow.

Curiously, Leah retrieved it and flipped it open. "One new video message? Who the _hell_ would be sending me stuff at three in the morning?"

**XXXX**


	35. Chapter 35

"_The nation-wide search for Colden Mitchell continues today after a new and disturbing video was released earlier this morning. Mitchell is seen pacing back and forth in what appears to be a hotel room, ranting about the things he's claiming he's going to do to Leah McAllister, who he brutally attacked earlier this month. The rising star is currently on tour with Tokio Hotel until the end of summer; and although the tour has already begun, it has been confirmed that Leah will be the opening act for the band for the remainder of the tour. Sources say that until Colden is caught, Leah will be trying to keep as busy as she can to distract herself. This is Ryan Seacrest with E! News."_

Leah sat curled up next to Bill as she and the rest of the gang stared blankly at the TV mounted to the wall of the tour bus. Soon after receiving the video message from Colden earlier that morning, Leah learned that the video had already gone viral on the internet. It didn't take long for the media to snatch it up. Dozens of reporters and talk show hosts attempted contacting Leah for her side of the story, but she refused to speak to them. Instead, she had Anna release a statement saying how busy she was with the tour and what not. The media seemed to accept that.

Leah turned off the TV and sighed. "So. What do we do now?"

"I guess we try to go on as normally as we can until things get…settled…" Stevie shrugged. "Just try to focus on the tour, Leah. Everything's going to be fine."

Tom could detect the sadness in Stevie's voice. After all, it _was_ her brother who was the cause of this whole mess. He pulled her closer on the love seat they were sitting on and kissed her on top of her head.

"I guess you're right," Leah sighed, snuggling in closer to Bill. "I just gotta push Colden outta my mind."

"Well _I_ could help you with that!" Bill smiled, leaning in close to kiss her.

The bus came to a stop. They had arrived at the hotel in Las Vegas!

Quickly hopping up, Gustav reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, making his way to the back of the bus. He got to the back room and closed the curtain. Looking through his contacts, he stopped at Rachel's name, holding his thumb over the call button.

Nervously he bit his lip. "Come on, G. Just call her. It's been a couple of days. She's gonna think you're not interested! Just do it!"

He forced himself to push the call button.

_Ring…ring…ring…_

"Hello?"

"Hello, Rachel? It's Gustav."  
"Oh, hi! How are you?"

"I'm good, I'm good." Sweat began to bead on his forehead. "So, how's Brandon?"

"Oh, he's good," Rachel said. "He won't stop talking about you all! You seriously made his life!"

Gustav smiled. "Really? That's awesome! Tell him I said hi!" His pulse began to race slightly. _Come on, G._ "So…"

"So…"

He swallowed hard. "So Rachel, is there any chance you'd…I mean, do you think you'd want to…well, what I'm trying to say is—"

"Are you trying to ask me out?" Rachel giggled on the other end.

Gustav sighed with relief. "Yeah, I guess I am!" He ran his fingers through his hair. "Now, I obviously wouldn't be able to take you out sometime soon…since I'm on tour and all…"

"I'm okay with that," smiled Rachel. "Just as long as I'm the first person you hang out with when you get back!"

"It's a date!" Gustav couldn't believe things had gone so smoothly. "I gotta run. I'll talk to you soon!"

"You got it!"

He could tell that things were going to be great.

**XXXX**

Later that night, the guys and Leah were preparing for the concert. They, Stevie, and Maria all sat in the green room backstage.

"I'm so nervous," Leah whimpered. "I don't think I can do this."

"Don't be silly," Bill wrapped his arm around her waist. "You're going to be great!"

"Yeah!" yelled Georg from across the room. "Don't be nervous! Once you're up on stage, all your worries fly away!"

Maria pinched his cheek. "Well _that_ was adorable!" she giggled.

Georg batted away her hand playfully. "Ow! That kinda hurt, you know!"

"Guys!" Tom laughed. "Stop it! You're just freaking Leah out!"

"I'm okay," smiled Leah. "At least, I think I am…"

A knock sounded at the door.

"Ten minutes, Miss McAllister!"

"Oh God." Leah felt like she couldn't breathe. It was almost time for her first performance ever! She couldn't believe it.

"I guess this is it!" Bill exclaimed. "Don't worry, Leah. I'll be right there with you. Well, I'll be backstage, but you'll be able to see me the whole entire time!" He kissed her. "You're gonna rock it tonight!"

**XXXX**

Leah stood just behind the stage, mic in hand. She took slow, deep breaths. Over and over she went through the lyrics to her songs in her head, praying that she wouldn't forget them. Just last night, after Colden's message and before she fell asleep, she wrote a song. It was better than anything she'd ever written before. It was too bad she wouldn't be able to play it tonight, though.

A loud voice boomed throughout the venue. "Las Vegas! Are you ready for this?"

Thousands of screams washed over Leah, sending a wave of excitement over her.

"Give it up…for Leah…McAllister!"

Showtime.

Leah and her back up band got into position behind the curtain onstage. The lights went down, and the screams escalated. Leah took a deep breath. _Here we go!_

The band started to play and the curtain began to rise. Blinded by the lights and flashes from a million cameras, Leah's confidence began to rise as she sung out the first lines.

_"I sit in the silence, listening, waiting, longing. The stillness in the air is intoxicating, inviting, lingering. Thoughts of you come rushing, pouring, racing. All at once I feel like screaming, singing, crying."_

The blood surged through Leah's veins as she picked up the beat, feeling more and more excited as she sang.

The crowd was really feeling her, and as she worked the stage, they got more and more pumped.

"_Now I'm falling, falling, falling, falling faster. Trying to keep this from turning to disaster. Without you here, this silence overtakes me. Get back here and find a way to come a break me. You know that I need you now more than ever. Whatever happened to "love lasts forever?" I'm lying awake at night out of frustration. I guess that's why it's called Sleepless Revelations."_

**XXXX**

Later that night, after the concert, everyone piled back into the tour bus to drive back to the hotel.

"Leah, you killed it tonight!" Bill picked her up and spun her around. "I knew you'd be amazing!"

"You really think so?" Leah laughed, still on a high from the concert.

Maria sat down on Georg's lap. "We know so! Leah, you were amazing! It was like you belonged up on that stage!"

"That's because she _does_ belong up on the stage!" Tom chimed in. "Leah, you're officially a rock star now!"

"Thanks, you guys," smiled Leah, still wrapped in Bill's arms. "I felt amazing tonight! It was like I could do anything!"

"Sissy, I'm so proud of you!" Stevie squealed, running over to give her a hug. "You should have seen the crowd! They were totally loving you!"

As the others celebrated Leah's big night, Gustav snuck away to the back of the bus to call Rachel. He smiled to himself.

"I think I might actually like this girl."

**XXXX**

"Very nice, Leah. Very nice."

Colden sat on the bed in a new hotel room, this time in Vegas. He sat watching recaps of the concert on TV, a sinister smile plastered on his face.

"Sing to me, my little songbird…"

_She won't be singing after we get through with her…_

"Her voice sounds so raw and untouched. I wonder how it will sound when she's gasping for life…"

_We can't just keep following her around the country like this. We need to make our move soon!_

"But it's so much fun to see her squirm in anticipation."

_Even so, we must hurry._

"We can't have her thinking that I'm going to let her go scott free, now can we?"

_Certainly not. That little bitch deserves to die._

"And she will."

Colden turned up the volume on the TV as Leah's voice rang out through the speakers. He sat there fore a moment, temporarily paralyzed by her voice. For one brief moment, the voice in his head was silenced. Once Colden realized this though, it came back stronger than ever.

_And HOW do you figure you're going to get along without me? I __**made**__ you! You'd be __**nothing**__ without me! I'm the reason you are where you are today!_

"I'm sorry, I just…she mesmerized me for a second. But she'll never have control over me. I'm the one in control, here. I'm the one calling the shots."

He stood up, making his way over to the window, where he had a perfect view of the hotel where Leah and the gang were staying.

"I'm so close, yet so far," he sighed, controlling the overwhelming urge to whip out the .42 caliber in his backpack and head over there right that second. He strolled back over to the bed, pulling the covers over top of his head.

"Oh, Leah. You won't know what hit you."

**XXXX**


End file.
